


Unwritten

by rainbow_teatime (peachymintyskies)



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-23
Updated: 2014-01-14
Packaged: 2018-01-02 10:36:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachymintyskies/pseuds/rainbow_teatime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a parallel universe of a different rule, everyone has the name of their predestined soulmates imprinted on their bodies. But what happens when Nino and Sho meet and fell in love with each other... in spite of having other people's names on their bodies?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is my first ever chaptered fanfiction. *nervous* Enjoy the prologue- it will give you an understanding of the world in which this story will take place in. :D _**For the rest of this series, yoroshiku ne~ *bows***_

Some may have heard the tragic story of Oenone and Paris. Oenone was a mountain nymph who became the first wife of Paris, the Trojan prince. However, he had dumped her for another who possessed greater youth and beauty, Helen of Sparta. This left Oenone completely heartbroken. Later on, in revenge for what he did, Oenone sent their son, Corythus, to guide the Greeks to the city of Troy, resulting in a great siege of the city. Soon, Paris returned to her, wounded, and pleaded with her to heal him. She naturally refused and rebuked him to return to Helen, his lover, and see how she could help him. Eventually, he died on the way back. As he was cremated on his funeral pyre, Oenone, full of regret and remorse, leapt off the towering walls of Troy into the burning pyre and died there alongside him.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love, saw the tragedy and was completely heartbroken. Finally, she decided to change something in the universe. She reasoned, in her heart, that people look for love outside their own primarily because they are insecure and uncertain that the person they were with at the moment was destined to be there their whole lives. And hence, with her sacred bottle of writing ink, she poured it over the entire globe. The world, for a moment, was covered in darkness, but it soon lifted.

Now, on every man's chest and every woman's shoulder, there lies a name outside their own.

The name of their soulmate who had been predestined to be with them forever.

Everyone found security in their relationships, believing that the names of each other's bodies were proof that they were made for each other.

But what happens when two people, with the names of their respective soulmates, found promises of undying love in each other in spite of the fact that their names are not on each other's bodies?

Will they still love each other... or will they live in pain as they watch the other love another?


	2. Always a step behind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heheh, okay, first chapter up! If you have yet to read the prologue, please go read it so that you have a rough idea about the setting of the entire story. :D This is my first ever chaptered fanfiction, so I'll continue to look to you readers and fellow writers for guidance. *bows* This probably isn't much because it's a first chapter, but hopefully I have set up the stage well enough for the action to take place. >

Nino's eyes fluttered open in surprise as the dream he just had started to fade away. He sat up for a moment to ponder over what he had seen- a well-built shadow of a man with sloping shoulders had appeared for the millionth time in his dream, but even then he could not get his name or even see his shadowed face at all. He gave a small sigh as he walked over to the bathroom, trying to get that shadow out of his mind.

He stood under the shower head that rained cold water on him. He rubbed his palms on his face and ran his hands through his hair, letting the cold water awaken his sleepy senses in the morning. He soon walked out and dried himself, proceeding to prepare for work. He stood in the mirror and checked himself, noting that his face was clean-shaven and that his lazy, sleepy eyes were now alert orbs of gold and brown. He smiled at himself, and then his eyes caught sight of a name, "Ohno Satoshi" , imprinted on the left side of his chest, directly above his heart. He sighed as his eyes lingered on it. All his life, he had been told by his happy parents that the person bearing that name was someone he was going to spend his life with- his soulmate. Whilst he had no idea why the name on his was a man's name, he still looked forward to finally meeting up with him someday, finding out reasons why fate had made him his soulmate. With a smile on his face, he stepped out to work, ready to face yet another day.

Life as the assistant to the chief security administrator at Storm Media Corporations is not easy.

For one, there is always the case whereby floors in the lobby were too squeaky-clean. Nino was striding confidently towards the lift lobby when a slip on the lobby's smooth floor made him collide into another smartly-dressed man. Papers flew into the air, spinning in circles before landing on the ground.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" he apologised, helping to pick up the sheets of paper that lay scattered on the floor, taking care not to slip and fall a second time. The man beside him straightened his attire and started to pick up the papers as well. Nino finally gathered the papers and handed it to the man, apologising profusely before walking carefully towards the lift lobby. The man straightened his tie and his papers, but found his eyes turning towards Nino's direction, a hint of recognition flitting across his eyes as he walked slowly towards the elevator as well.

Nino stood idly at the elevator, waiting for it to arrive. Suddenly, he caught sight of the same man he had bumped into earlier walking towards him. Slightly embarrassed, he averted his eyes and watched the elevator climb down.  
The man stopped beside him, looking up at the elevator as well. Soon enough, though, Nino could have sworn that he felt like someone was watching him. He turned to look at the man, only to see that he was focusing on the elevator. He took in his appearance- smartly dressed in a suit and a tie, a rather strong build in spite of sloping shoulders and a charming, princely face.

Then it hit Nino. He turned to look at the man, taking in, once again like he did in his dreams, the familiar well-built figure and sloping shoulders.

"So this must be him... The shadowed man in my dreams," he thought to himself, a soft smile curling up on his face.

Suddenly, the man turned to look at him, as if feeling his gaze on him. Suddenly realising that he had been staring too long, he averted his eyes away from him.

The elevator came and they entered in awkward silence. Suddenly, the man spoke.

"Uh, are you perhaps new to this company?" the man asked, his voice. Nino looked at him in mild surprise and smiled back at him awkwardly.

"Ah... Yes. I just joined the company a few weeks ago," Nino replied, holding out his hand for a friendly shake.

"Ninomiya Kazunari from the security administration department," he said, "yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" The man smiled at him and Nino could have sworn that he felt his heart stop. The man gripped Nino's hand, shaking firmly.

"Sakurai Sho from the newscasting department. Yoroshiku, "he replied. Nino froze momentarily for a second as his mind reeled into confusion. Then he gave a tight smile and a polite wave as the newscaster alighted at his floor and bowed politely at him. When he was alone, he thought back on everything he had known. He clearly remembered that the name on his chest was 'Ohno Satoshi', not the name that he had just heard. But yet... he somehow dreamt unconsciously of him. What was all this supposed to mean?

"Eh.. so he isn't..?" he wondered. Just as he was thinking so, the door opened, revealing a tanned man carrying a huge sketchbook into the lift. Clutched in his left hand was a bucket that contained numerous pencils and paintbrushes. He seemed to be an artist. His round face seemed to show a rather bored expression as he gazed up at the digital numbers above the elevator doors.  
When it reached the photography and journalism department, the doors slid open to reveal the cheerful face of a photographer.

"Ah, Aiba-san.." the man called, with a small smile on his face.

"Ohno-kun! I was just about to look for you! You have the sketches, ne? Come with me now- MatsuJun is waiting!" The man rattled away, grabbing the artist's right arm and dragging him away. Nino raised an eyebrow as the doors shut, taking him to the security department that was on the top floor of the building.

Wait...

"Ohno.. was his name?" he thought to himself, eyes widening in shock at the realisation that the man who had been standing beside him right then was the soulmate he had been waiting to meet. He looked back down at the floor the artist had alighted at and frantically pressed the button to take him back down. Of course, the lift still went all the way up to the top floor, its doors opening to reveal the face of his new boss. He sighed as the new boss chided him on being so slow, knowing that he would have to meet him some other time.


	3. Meeting and Dreaming

Nino gave a stretch in his chair and looked at the clock in his office. It was just a few minutes to lunch at 1pm.  
Since 11 a.m., he had been sitting in front of his computer monitor with his boss, listening to him drone on about his own life and how it had been with a whole string of ex-girlfriends. Nino nodded from time to time pretending to listen whilst observing numerous windows of camera footage in front of him.  
Midway through his boss' lamentation about his ex-ex-ex-lover, he caught sight of the familiar tanned man, 'Ohno', in one of the screens. He discreetly observed him, watching him enter the modelling department of the building. Right then, a good-looking man with jet-black hair strode out and gave Ohno and his companion (Nino had forgotten his name here) a friendly hug before leading them into the modelling department wing. He frowned a little, wondering what an artist could be doing in the photography and modelling department.

Finally, to his relief, the boss seemed to have realised that he had more important matters to attend to than to chat with Nino and returned to his own office, leaving Nino alone. Seeing that he was alone, he enlarged the screen that videoed the entrance of the modelling department wing. Just as he was about to leave, he noted a familiar pair of sloping shoulders leaving the broadcasting department, Nino slid back into his seat and looked at the screen, enlarging it. To his pleasant surprise, the newscaster pressed the button to the cafeteria on the 3rd floor. He grinned and returned both windows to their original sizes before calling a colleague to take over for him and then leaving for the cafeteria. He had found a lunch companion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sho walked into the cafeteria, finding it to be rather crowded. He proceeded to the food counter, ordering his lunch while looking up the latest news on his phone. Finding a seat by the windows, he sat there with his beef ramen, waiting for his usual lunch buddies. Suddenly, a soft voice spoke up.

"Er, excuse me, Sakurai-san, is this seat taken?"

Sho looked up to see that it was the man he had met in the elevator earlier. He gave him a welcoming smile as he patted the seat next to him.

"I'm waiting for my lunch buddies, actually. But I don't mind letting you meet them. You'll feel more comfortable with more contacts here, right?" he suggested. Nino nodded eagerly.

"Thank you so much, because I'm in need of company apart from my boss," Nino said, mock-shuddering at the mention of his boss. Sho laughed.

"Sho-chan! We're here!" a cheery voice called. Nino and Sho turned to the source of the voice. Nino's eyes widened in surprise- it was the same company of friends he had seen in the lift and in his office- the photographer, the good-looking model and...

"My soulmate..." he thought, as he caught sight of the artist's sleepy demeanor.  
The three men sat down, then looked at Nino curiously. The model turned to Sho.

"Sho-kun, you have a new friend?" the model enquired, sweeping a stray jet-black fringe to the side of his head, making female colleagues within a radius of ten metres faint. Sho grinned and pat Nino lightly on the shoulder.

"I just met him today. He's a newbie here in our company and I thought I'll provide him some company apart from his boss," Sho explained, and Nino giggled at his comment and proceeded to introduce himself.

"Ninomiya Kazunari. I'm working in the security administration department. Do take care of me," he said, bowing his head politely, while his eyes caught the graphic artist's ones in front of him. For some strange reason, he noted a small hint of shock and surprise in that man's eyes. Nino averted his eyes and stared at the model who chuckled and held out his hand.

"I can understand that. My manager can be quite the eccentric as well. I'm Matsumoto Jun-a fashion model here. Call me Jun," he said. Nino smiled and took his hand in a friendly grip, shaking it.

"Mou, what is with you guys and crazy bosses and managers? Not everyone is like that, okay!" the brown-haired guy between the model and the graphic artist protested, pouting. Sho chuckled.

"Says this guy who is the supervisor of the photography department," Sho said, gesturing to him as he explained, "Aiba Masaki. He organises the photoshoots in our company. Occasionally, Jun-kun and Aiba-kun do work together."

Nino nodded and shook Aiba's hand. Aiba grinned cheerfully at him. Nino's attention then turned to the graphic artist sitting right beside Aiba. The graphic artist looked straight into Nino's eyes, as though staring in the depths of his soul. Nino looked back at him, surprised.

"This guy," Sho said, "is Ohno Satoshi. He's an artist in the department of visual arts. His graphic designs are absolutely fabulous and have been used in many of our local publications."

Ohno smiled and held out his hand.  
"Ninomiya-san, it's so good to finally meet you," he said. Nino widened his eyes in surprise as they shook hands. Ohno's expression was almost unreadable- a mixture of wonder and happiness. Sho arched an eyebrow curiously at the two of them, and then turned questioningly to Aiba and Jun who shrugged, showing an equal degree of cluelessness.

"So he isn't the only person who wanted to meet me!" Nino thought happily as he withdrew his hand back to take a sip from his cup of coffee.

The rest of the lunch break passed by enjoyably for the happy company of five. They listened to Nino recounting how his absolutely egocentric boss rattled off to him about his long history of failed romances and chuckled at the the eccentric ways of Jun's manager. Just as Nino was about to head up to the lift first, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned to see that it was Ohno.

"Ohno-san? What is it?" he asked. Ohno shifted uneasily in his position before finally looking up at him.

"Can we.. go for dinner later?" he asked. Nino stared at him in surprise. The day seemed to be progressing better than he had expected- first, a new group of friends and then dinner with his supposed soulmate.

"Why not? Just make sure it's a nice hamburger stall you're taking me to," he said. Ohno could not hold back a smirk as he entered the elevator with Nino.

"Leave it to me," he replied proudly.  
From the cafeteria, Sho watched a grinning Nino enter the lift with Ohno. He smiled softly to himself. Just then, his arm was tugged by Aiba.

"Sho-chan! Later for dinner, let's go to my dad's restaurant to eat, ne?" Aiba asked as he helped Jun clear up their trays. Sho agreed and strode off with the two while glancing back from time to time at the elevator Nino had entered.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Nino's eyes gleamed as he stared at the wonderful sight in front of him. The sight and smell of his favourite hamburger. And, of course, his supposed soulmate who sat right opposite him. Dinner passed by in a period of an awkward but strangely comfortable silence.

"You know," Ohno finally spoke, "when I first heard your name just now during lunch, I was really surprised."  
Nino looked up and chuckled softly. "I realised it in the elevator that morning."

Ohno looked at him confusedly.

"I was beside you this morning in the elevator," Nino explained, "you probably did not notice though. Right after you stepped out, Aiba-san greeted you and grabbed you away. By the time I realised the name printed on me was yours, I was already at my workplace."

Ohno simply stared at Nino in surprise.

"So... we were beside each other and yet we didn't know each other?" he said.

"More like YOU didn't know me," he teased.

Ohno simply smiled at him and continued eating. Nino could not help but stare at the man in front of him with a smile on his face. Much as he seemed to be a rather quiet person at a glance, he actually does have a friendly charm about him that makes him easy to approach. It felt as if he could just stay silent with him and eat his dinner and still feel like he just had the best conversation with him.

Could that be why his name was written on him? Could that be the reason why he was written to be made for him? Nino had no idea. But right at that moment, as they ate their hamburgers, he seemed to like that very much. And it made him even happier that the Ohno-kun did not seem to mind at all.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

"Ne, Sho-chan! Don't you think that Ohno-kun was acting a little strange just now during lunch? He simply just stared at Nino the entire time after I introduced him! And what did he mean by 'it's so good to finally meet you'? Did he hear of Nino before that?" Aiba asked.

Sho shrugged as he slurped on his noodles. "He seemed perfectly fine to me, you know."

"But then Ohno-kun seemed to know Ninomiya-san before they met!" Aiba protested.

"Well that is easy, isn't it?" Sho said, "If you think about it, the only reason why you seem to know me before we even met would be because..."

Aiba pondered over what Sho said for a short while, and then it hit him. Aiba looked at Sho, surprised.

"... Wait a minute, so their names...?" Aiba asked, eyes wide open. Sho smiled.

"Yep. Just like us. They have each other's names on each other," he replied.

Aiba whooped in joy and gave Sho a hug.

"You know, we ought to get them to go out with us! It would be one nice double-date," Aiba suggested excitedly. Sho smiled and leaned over, kissing him on the cheek.

"You think it'd be that easy? We'll have to see how well they get along. Who knows, they might get into horrible fights like Jun and Mao did," Sho said.

"But look at who Jun is dating in the end," Aiba rebutted promptly.

"In the end, Aiba-chan, not in an instant," Sho said.

Aiba laughed and laid back on his chair.  
"We'll see ne? Though I'm pretty sure that they will get along just fine and we can ask them out together very, very soon," Aiba said, a wide, excited grin making his way up his face.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

"Thanks so much for the meal today, Ohno-san," Nino spoke as they walked out of the restaurant, "I had a great time."

Ohno beamed warmly at him as they walked alongside each other. "Well we can be said to be friends now, so just call me Satoshi," he said.

"Satoshi..." Nino gave a mock-frown, "It's too long. Oh-chan! How is that?" he suggested.

Ohno chuckled at the nickname but nodded in agreement. Soon, they had reached a bus stop, where Nino sat and waited.

"How are you going home, Oh-chan?" Nino asked.

"Oh, I live around here. I'm just keeping you company until the bus comes," Ohno replied.

Nino looked away, slightly embarrassed but a little happy that Ohno wanted his company. Soon, the bus arrived.  
Nino looked back at Ohno, waving a short goodbye before the bus chugged off. Ohno stared after the bus and walked back home with a little skip in his steps.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nino strolled slowly amidst the brightly lit garden that stood beneath the night sky. The bright glow of light emitting from the flowers around him illuminated the night. Numerous fireflies danced around in the garden like clusters of falling stars. He marvelled at the ethereal sight and saw a silhouette of a man standing far in the distance in front of him. Curious, he walked slowly towards the man.

The silhouette grew taller in stature and Nino could make out a distinct pair of sloping shoulders. And a familiar well-built figure. Soon, he caught his mysterious brown eyes that gazed sharply in his direction but softened at the sight of him.

"Nino..." a deep voice whispered.

 

Nino's eyes blinked open as he stared up at the ceiling, awake.  
He could not get those pair of shoulders and mysterious brown eyes out of his head. But what bothered him more was the fact that those shoulders definitely did not belong to Ohno. Or those brown eyes. Not that Ohno did not have brown eyes, but there was something else completely different about the ones that he had just seen. He turned to the side of his bed, deciding to get back to sleep and think about it later in the morning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sho trudged on the flat top of a small hill, looking around him. In the vast darkness, there was nothing- just rolling clouds of sand and dust that scattered around lazily in the night breeze. He trudged ahead aimlessly, feeling the cold of the surroundings chill his body. Suddenly, a brightly lit area was in sight and he ran towards it. As he came nearer to the area, he saw that it was a garden. A huge garden that was brightly lit. Beads of light like diamonds strung together and surrounded trees, bushes, flowers like Christmas decorations. He paused and admired a tree, watching how the stars in the sky now shot themselves across the sky, travelling towards his left. His eyes followed their direction to look left.. and caught sight of a small figure making its way towards him. And then he saw it again- those sharp, brown eyes that had flecks of gold in it. He could feel his eyes smile at the man's.  
"Nino..." he whispered.

Sho woke up in a flash. "Nino? ... Nino?" he mumbled to himself, confused. "Nino...Ninomiya? But why?" his mind wondered. He stared up at the ceiling, puzzled. He then stood up and stepped in front of the mirror, staring at the name written on his chest and right above his heart.

"Aiba Masaki... so why is Nino in my dreams?" Sho sighed and went back to bed. He gazed up again at the ceiling. There was no doubt that he would not be able to forget those brown-and-gold eyes for a long while.


	4. Successful Double-dating

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to stay up to do this and it's 1am in Singapore here. -_-  
> But it's so worth it, because now I have set everything to be ready. *evil cackle*  
> Had to post this on AO3 first because LJ happened to be down when I was about to post.  
> Hmph.
> 
> Well~ to all my readers who HAPPEN to be on AO3, you guys will be the first batch of people to read it. XD 
> 
> Enjoy~

Nino strode into the building tiredly, his eyes framed by small dark eye rings. Everyone passing by looked at him curiously, noting his half-done tie and shaggy bed hair. He was going to blame Sakurai Sho for that, because right after he dreamt of him, he could not get a wink of sleep. He stepped into the lift and the doors were about to shut until they opened again to reveal an equally-tired Sho. Sho stepped in and stared at Nino's attire.

"Good morning, Ninomiya-kun. What happened last night? You couldn't get enough sleep?" Sho asked, concerned.

Nino glanced up at him and smiled tiredly.

"Good morning, Well sort of. For some reason, I could not sleep. I see you couldn't get some sleep yourself either," he replied cheekily. Sho chuckled softly.

"But still, you look worse. Let me straighten you up a little," he said. as he fingered Nino's tie. He smoothed out the slightly crumpled tie and straightened it while pushing the knot firmly and carefully onto Nino's collar. His fingers brushed slightly against the side of Nino's neck as he adjusted his tie. Nino could only stare blankly ahead of him while he tried his best to calm his rapid heart rate. Sho then straightened out his shirt and stood back, smiling proudly at his work.

"There you go. Although your hair is a little messy, it'll do for now," he remarked before staring back at the LCD display above the lift doors.

"Ah, thank you, Sakurai-san," he said. Sho stared at the Nino, amused at the formality.

"Come now, we're friends, right? Call me Sho," he said and stepped out as the lift doors opened, waving to Nino as the doors closed again. Nino smiled and waved back, and as the elevator doors closed, he slumped back against the wall to catch his breath. he had no idea why Sho's close proximity with him pushed his heart rate higher than normal.

Sho strode into the office, breathing deeply as he went. He could not understand why his heart rate sped up when he stood close to Nino and why he even thought about straightening up Nino's attire. Just as he was pondering over his thoughts, two hands wrapped themselves around his torso and hugged him from behind.

"Sho-chan~ Ohayou~" a voice chirped energetically. Sho grinned and caught the arms around his waist, pulling them away and hugging the man who hugged him.

"Ohayou, Aiba-chan. What are you doing here in the broadcasting department anyway?" Sho asked.

"What, I'm just here to see you! But..." Aiba looked at him rather worriedly, "you look like you did not have sufficient sleep yesterday. Is it insomnia?"

Sho nodded. "It 's not JUST insomnia, though..." he thought to himself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lunch break came and the happy company of five gathered together again. This time, Ohno decided to assume his seat beside Nino. Sho and Aiba came slightly later and sat directly opposite the pair. Jun walked in confidently and sat down beside Aiba. Aiba was grinning widely at Ohno and Nino, who were now engaged in a conversation with each other and jabbing each other in the ribs in a friendly manner.

"Oh? Ohno-kun? When did you and Nino become so friendly with each other?" Jun asked, echoing Aiba's thoughts.

"Eh?" Nino asked, "Me and Oh-chan?"

Aiba and Jun laughed. "See? See?" Aiba teased, "it's not 'Ohno-san' or 'Ohno-kun', but 'Oh-chan'! "

"You even took the liberty of shortening his name, eh? Nino-kun?" Jun added, a smirk making its way up his face.

Nino giggled and retorted, "Oh stop it , you. He doesn't mind that. Right, Oh-chan?"

Ohno simply grinned shyly at Nino and went back to eating.

"See? He likes it so much that he has gotten shy and decided to go back to eating!" Nino said.

The table erupted in laughter.

Sho watched Ohno and Nino speak to each other and could only smile softly to himself. He was glad that the two of them, with their names written on each other, could get along so well. They'd be following their destiny to be with each other. But.. he could not explain the other feeling that started to stir in his heart. It was a combination of wist, longing and a slight tint of jealousy.

He shook his head at the thought. "No, no. Nino and Ohno have been written to be meant for each other, just like Aiba and myself," he thought. He knew he could not afford to harbour such feelings at all. He could not and should not. With that resolve, he turned to smile widely at Aiba.

"Ne, Aiba-kun," he said, "About what we talked about yesterday..."

Aiba looked at him, confused.

"Talked about what?" he prompted.

"You know," Sho replied, "if Ohno and Nino do get along like we hoped..."

Aiba's eyes lit up excitedly.  
"Right! I remember! Hey hey, Nino-kun, Ohno-kun! Do you want to go on a double-date some time soon?"

Jun narrowed his eyes at Aiba. "Are you leaving me out of this, Aiba-kun?"

Sho chuckled, "If Mao-chan is not uncomfortable with having five guys around, it's no problem,"

"Plus," Aiba chimed, "I thought the two of you would like some, erm, privacy."

Jun blushed faintly. "Well, it's fine then. I'll ask Mao-chan out on my own. "

Sho grinned. "I thought you would. Anyway, " he was about to continue when he found Nino and Ohno staring at him in mild surprise.

"Er... we are not 'going out' at the moment..." Nino said.

Ohno looked down at his plate with a mild blush on his face.

Aiba laughed heartily at their reactions. "It's okay," he said. "Just accompany us! It'll be boring if it's just the two of us, ne? Sho-kun?"

Sho nodded in agreement.

"Who knows," Sho said, "you two might find that you are more suited than you thought after this excursion,"

Ohno coughed a little . "More..suited.."

Aiba grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Yeeess, since the two of you have names written on your bodies, I'm sure that it'll be a matter of time before the two of you end up together, ne?"

Nino and Ohno looked at each other uncertainly.

"Come on," Aiba pleaded, his puppy eyes now staring at the pair. Nino and Ohno looked at Aiba in surprise. His puppy eyes somehow just compelled them to agree to his invitation. They nodded slowly.

"Yatta!" Aiba shouted, fist-pumping in the air and catching the attention of over a hundred other colleagues.

The other four men at the table started to eat quickly , leaving Aiba in an excited daze of his own.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The weekend came and Ohno and Nino met up at a bus stop outside the a zoo that Aiba had proposed.

"Aiba really loves,animals, ne?" Nino asked.

Ohno nodded. "Just as much as you love video games and your Nintendo DS," he replied, making Nino chuckle.

"So what exactly is this date that we are going on? Why in the world did Aiba ask me where I'll like to go the most?" Nino asked.

Ohno pondered over the same question. "I wonder too... I answered that I wanted to go to an art gallery..."

Nino laughed. "I answered that I'll want to go to a game arcade."

"And those two places are exactly where we'll be going today~" a cheerful voice boomed behind Nino and Ohno, startling both of them. They turned around to see Aiba with his arms around Sho's shoulders.

They looked at Aiba quizzically.

"In other words, " Sho explained, "we are going to all the different places we had said we wanted to go."

Nino and Ohno's eyes widened.

"So.. we'll be going to an art gallery..." Ohno mumbled.

"And a game arcade..." Nino buried his face in his palms.

"Oh, it's alright! I said that I wanted to go to a bookstore, so.." Sho tried to comfort the slightly-embarrassed Nino.

"Let's just all have fun in all our favourite venues, ne? Staring with.. the zoo~" Aiba announced, tugging Sho excitedly with him. Nino and Ohno looked at the pair walking briskly in front of them and laughed.

"Let's go, Oh-chan!" Nino said.

Ohno nodded and strode towards the entrance of the zoo, slinging an arm over Nino's shoulder. Nino smiled to himself. It was going to be a great day for both of all of them.

The zoo proved to be quite an interesting venue, with the elephants waving hello at them with their trunks and Aiba feeding the pandas. Sho snapped pictures of the entire zoo excursion- Nino waving at him from a sign, Aiba feeding the pandas, Ohno looking thoughtfully at the monkeys, Nino doing a gorilla pose and , Nino stretching his hand along the giraffe's tall neck, Nino posing on a huge rock... As Sho looked back at the photos during lunch, he realised, to his shock, that he took more photos of Nino than of everyone else.

They stepped into the bookstore just around Nino's house and looked around. Sho's eyes lit up in wonder as he scanned through the books that were around placed on the shelves. Nino looked at Sho curiously.

"Sho-chan, you like books?" Nino asked.

Sho smiled warmly at Nino, showing him the book he had in hand.

"I tried to look for this in the book store near my house, but they said it was out of stock. So it is really amazing that I found it here!" he explained excitedly.

Nino could not help but smile at how Sho's expression totally changes when it comes to books. As Sho continued talking about the different types of literature he had come across, he noted that Sho had become more alive and more animated when it came to topics that he liked. And he liked that side of Sho. Very much.

Aiba and Ohno, in the meantime, hung around the stationery section- with Aiba looking at cute bookmarks with animals on them and Ohno looking at a whole display of palettes and paintbrushes.

They stood in front of the art gallery Ohno had in mind. Ohno seemed to have picked an exhibition with a theme "Pop". They stepped into the gallery and wandered around, pondering over each painting. Whilst Nino could rarely find anything interesting about the paintings, Sho and Ohno could be seen gazing at each painting thoughtfully.

"Ne, Oh-chan. What do you see in this painting anyway?" he asked.

"Ah," Ohno smiled charmingly at him and explained how the colours in that painting seemed to give off a vibrant, happy mood and how the symbols and objects in the picture are related to the main theme. Nino could feel Ohno's enthusiasm for art and smiled up at the picture, amazed at how Ohno seemed to make the picture easier to understand. Sho glanced at Nino from the side of his eyes and walked away to another picture before he could change his mind about his resolve to stay away.

The last stop was Nino's favourite game arcade. They stepped into the arcade and could see the blinking and flashing neon lights of the game machines that lined every aisle.

"Come now, let's play! " He yelled over the noise, dragging Ohno with him to sit at a racing gaming machine. Aiba joined in excitedly and Sho slid on a seat , resigned. As expected, Nino was the best racer out of the four of them and came in first. Aiba managed to skid past a Ohno and end up second. Ohno, trying his best with the controls, finally came in third. The three of them glanced at Sho who trailed somewhere far behind Ohno and watched his car chug his way to the last position. Sho looked at the rest of them sheepishly.

"What, I'm not good at gaming," he said.

They went on Dance Dance Revolution next. Ohno was unexpectedly good as a dancer , just like how Nino was good as a gamer. The both of them formed a formidable duo as they battled it out on the machine, with Ohno winning only by a the skin of his teeth. Nino slumped on the rail, taking a deep breath as he gazed up at Ohno in complete disbelief.

"You did not tell me you are an expert in DDR!'" Nino protested, gasping in between breaths, earning laughter from Sho and Aiba. Ohno grinned cheekily as he helped Nino up.

"I'm quite the dancer actually, Nino-kun," he said.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After a whole day of fun, the famished party of four decided to settle for ramen just around the corner. Sho sat beside Aiba, with Nino taking a seat opposite him. Ohno settled beside Nino and reached for the menus on the table.

"Well now, shall we order?" Nino asked.

"I want my salted butter ramen..." Aiba mumbled as he looked at the menu.

"Oh, this looks good, doesn't it?" Sho asked as he showed Aiba his menu, accidentally brushing his legs against Nino's . Nino tried not to shiver and pulled his legs back slowly while burying his face in the menu.

Ohno looked at him questioningly.  
"Nino, are you okay?" he asked.

Nino laughed nervously as he straightened himself up again.  
"Why of course I'm fine. Just extremely hungry," he said. Ohno smiled and pointed to the menu item.

"What about this? I'm getting it just to try it out," he suggested.

Nino nodded before looking away distractedly at his menu, trying not to think about how Sho's legs were really close to his own.

Finally, their dinner arrived. The four of them chatted leisurely about the day's events.  
"It was fun, wasn't it?" Aiba said.

Nino nodded in agreement, "we should do this more often ne, Oh chan?"

Sho grinned and leaned closer to Nino. "So? Have you and Ohno...?"

Ohno glanced back down at his ramen, his face reddening a little.

Nino laughed nervously. "What are you talking about?!"

Aiba winked knowingly at Nino, "well, Sho and I just could not help but note that the two of you were so perfectly matched when dancing on that DDR machine.,"

"But that's.." Nino protestled laughingly.

Ohno chuckled and continued eating.

"Maa, Aiba-kun, stop teasing them already. Look at them- their faces are so flushed," Sho commented.

"You sure it was not the ramen?" Aiba prodded jokingly.

Sho shook his head while finishing the last of his noodles. "Gochisosama desu~" he said, stretching in his seat. His legs brushed against Nino's once again. Nino tensed a little at the close contact. He had no idea how to react in this case. He stared around at Ohno and Aiba who were still slurping blithely on their noodles . He resignedly ate away at his noodles while letting his legs stay right where they were-resting lightly against Sho's beneath the table.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They stepped out of the ramen shop and gave themselves a stretch.

"How shall we go back?" Ohno asked.

Aiba slung his arm over Sho's shoulder like he did in the beginning of their outing.

"Of course, I'm sending my dearest back home. You can send yours back, Ohno-kun~" Aiba teased.

Ohno smiled, embarrassed and looked up at Nino. "Shall we go?" he asked.

Nino seemed just as nervous and nodded slowly.

"Well then, we will see the two of you on Monday~" Aiba said. Sho waved at the two of them , his eyes lingering slightly longer at Nino's eyes before turning to walk away with Aiba.

Nino turned to Ohno. "Let's go, Oh-chan!"

Ohno held his arm back., looking up at Nino.

"Ano.. Nino-kun,..." he began softly, fidgeting in his position. Nino tilted his head, looking at him curiously. Finally, it seemed that Ohno had made his resolve and he stared right up into Nino's eyes.

"Can we try going out together?" he asked.firmly.

Nino stood there, his feet rooted to the ground. Sho and Aiba heard Ohno and turned around to look at the pair. Aiba smiled happily at them, not noticing the bittersweet expression that Sho wore on his face.

Nino looked up nervously at Ohno.

"I..." Ohno began, "I..er.. I... like you, Nino. I know it sounds crazy , especilally when we haven not known each other for too long, but..."

"it's fine," Nino's soft voice whispered.

Ohno looked up at Nino, surprised.

"Eh?" Ohno could not believe his ears. Nino smiled at him.

"Let's try this out together, ne?" Nino suggested.

Ohno's face broke out into a relieved grin and he pulled Nino into his arms, enjoying the warmth of the younger man. Nino embraced Ohno, his arms encircling around the older man's body. He smiled up at the sky, trying to push away that nagging feeling of unease that stayed at the back of his head.

Just several metres away, Aiba smiled.

"We did it, didn't we?" he said, encircling an arm around Sho.

Sho watched the pair embrace each other, feeling a strange, painful tug on his heartstrings.

"Yeah.. we did." he replied, mildly confused as to why his heart felt so heavy and why he wished he was the one hugging Nino instead.


	5. Refrain

That night, Nino laid down on his bed, his heart and mind still confused. He felt a mix of complicated feelings in his heart. On one hand, he had finally found the man who was supposed to be his soulmate. But on the other... he could not ignore the fact that he was more taken with Sho, no matter how wrong it was that he should be so. After all, Sho was already attached to Aiba. Nino sighed and shook his head, knowing that it would not be fair to Aiba or Ohno if he did not at least give Ohno a chance. "Who knows," he thought, "I might like Ohno better than Sho as time goes. Maybe Ohno will be able to show me more reasons why our names had been written on each other's bodies..." Just then, his phone beeped. It was an e-mail from Ohno.

  
"Goodnight, Nino. I'll miss you. Let's go to work together on Monday, alright?" the message read. Nino chuckled, knowing at the back of his head that Ohno must have had a hard time thinking of a way to end off the night well. He typed back his reply.

  
"Goodnight, Oh-chan," he typed, pressing "Send".

  
Days soon turned to weeks, with Nino and Ohno starting to go to work together everyday, chatting happily about everything they had done. Well, not that they did not exchange emails when they were apart, but everything just seemed so different when they chat in person.

  
Occasionally, Sho would step into the lift to find the two of them chatting excitedly to each other. After which, they'll invite him in the conversation and he would talk happily with them until he reaches his floor. But after he stepped out of the lift, he could feel the familiar, sinking feeling in his heart as he watched the elevator go up away from him. He did not know, however, that once Ohno had left at his floor, Nino would look sadly back down towards the newscasting department.

  
Soon, it was nearing Jun's birthday. Nino popped by the graphic design department.

  
"Oh-chan~" he called as he approached Ohno's cubicle and Ohno looked up at him in a pleasant surprise.

  
"Ah, Nino!" he greeted cheerfully, pulling him in for a hug and a light peck on the cheek. Nino smiled shyly and pulled back.

  
"I'm going to shop for Jun's present now. Are you coming?" he asked.

  
Ohno pouted and gestured to his latest work. "I need to finish this by tonight. I might be working overtime for this one. Gomen ne, Nino," he replied.

  
Nino shook his head. "It's fine," he said, "I'll go shop by myself. If you see Jun and he asks, tell him that I had a cold, okay? We won't want to let the cat out of the bag."

  
Ohno agreed, holding his hand and squeezing reassuringly. Nino laughed.

"Hey, let go. You need to work, don't you?" he said. Ohno pouted again but returned to his work.

  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was raining when Nino stepped out and gazed up at the gloomy clouds in the sky. He strode along the wet streets, looking at the glass display windows for anything interesting.

  
_巡り巡るこの街で　巡り合えたこの奇跡_   


_今も君はこの胸の奥にいるよ_

_Wandering around this city　And this miracle that I ran into you_

_Even now, you exist deep in my heart_

  
Nino gazed up at a mannequin that sported a furry scarf and a hat. He paused and looked at the outfits, picturing how it would look like on Jun.

On the other side of the street, Sho and Aiba strolled along the line of shops.

  
_降り出した雨に消えないように_   


_二人強く手を握り締めてたのに_

_抱きしめる度に切ない心は雨に打たれたままで_

_Although we tightly held hands_

_So that we wouldn't disappear in the rain that began to fall_

_Every time I hold you close_

_My aching heart is beaten by the rain_

  
"Sho-chan! Do you think that Jun will look good in that hat?" Aiba asked, pointing to a knitted hat with ear flaps. Sho chuckled at the image of Jun with ear flaps.

"Well, it will make him look rather cute. Though I think we ought to look for something cool and sophisticated," Sho suggested.

"Ehh, then wouldn't that one do?"  Aiba asked, pulling Sho along to the next mannequin that wore a classy-looking boater.

Sho frowned, shaking his head and looked around for another shop that sells clothes and caught sight of one directly across the street..

The one that he happened to see Nino walk out of, empty-handed.

  
_あの日の僕たちは素直になれなくて_   


_君の横顔ずっと　見つめたまま季節は過ぎたね?_

_（目を閉じれば切なく愛しいよ）_

_いつかの『愛してる』言葉にできなくて_

_柔らかな記憶は（輝くよ）_

_こらえた涙零れ落ちて風に包まれていた_

_The two of us from those days couldn't be honest with each other_

_I always passed the seasons by gazing at you from the side, didn't I?_

_(If I close my eyes, this is a painful love)_

_Unable to one day say the words "I love you"_

_The gentle memories (are shining)_

_The tears I'd been fighting back spilled over and were hidden by the wind_

  
Nino stepped out and looked up at the mannequin. It seemed that they did not have the colour that he had in mind. He sighed and looked up.

"What a pity," he mumbled and looked for another shop. His eyes scanned the surroundings and met Sho's surprised brown eyes.

In that moment that their gazes locked, it was as if their eyes had spoken for themselves, conveying in an unspoken language their confusion, fears, and in spite of it all, undeniable attraction to the other.

"Sho-chan! Sho-chan!" Sho suddenly felt his body being shaken by Aiba. He turned back to Aiba, who stared at him.

"What is catching your attention?" Aiba questioned, following Sho's eyes to see the mannequin at the shop opposite them.

"I was just wondering if that outfit across the street would suit Jun," Sho said, pointing to the boutique that Nino had walked out of. Nino, at that point in time, had already walked quickly away from the boutique, eager to get away from the pair. He had promised himself to give Ohno a chance, and he definitely did not want to break up Aiba and Sho because of his own selfish whims.

  
_何もかもがきらめいて　まるで時が止まるよう_   


_いつも二人終わらない夢を見たね?_

_Everything is glittering, just like time has stood still_

_We always saw our never-ending dream, didn't we?_

Nino stopped by an antique-looking jewellery store and stepped in, looking around at the collection of rings and chain necklaces that were display proudly along the aisles. He held up one with the centre studded with black rhinestones, admiring it.

_重なる影が離れないように_

_何も言わずただ寄り添っていたのに_

_胸を締め付ける儚い想いは言葉にできぬままで_

_Like how overlapping shadows aren't separated_

_We don't say anything and cuddle close_

_My chest tightens, unable to put these fleeting emotions into words_

"Ah~ So cold..." Aiba shivered, clinging tightly to Sho for some warmth. Sho laughed and tried to hold up the umbrella to shelter them both.

"Let's see, we gave him a scarf last year... do you think sunglasses would do?" Sho asked.

"Do you think this store will sell sunglasses then?" Aiba asked, pointing to an antique-looking jewellery store. Sho shook his head.

"Nope, I think this one only sells jewellery. Maybe the accessories shop over there might have it," he remarked, leading Aiba to the shop right next to the jewellery store.

_心にいつまでも消えない痛みさえ_

_君を思い出せば 　優しさに包まれる今でも_

_（目を閉じれば切なく愛しいよ）_

_心はいつまでもどれだけ離れても_

_柔らかな記憶は（輝くよ）_

_この空の下出会った事 確かに刻まれてる_

_If only, this pain will never disappear from my heart_

_If I remember you, I'll be filled with affection, even now_

_(If I close my eyes, this is a painful love)_

_Always in my heart, no matter how far we are separated_

_The gentle memories (are shining)_

_Under this sky, our chance meeting will certainly be carved here_

Nino stepped out of the shop, carrying Jun's gift carefully. He headed out of the shop and walked on. He passed by the accessories shop and crossed the street to a stationery shop, where he decided to buy a card for Jun. He decided to give Ohno a call to ask what kind of present he would want to give Jun. Just as he was keying in Ohno's number, Sho stepped out of the accessories shop to look for the nearest automatic teller machine. He trudged along the street, looking for it while holding up his umbrella.

"Okay, Oh-chan. I'll get him the boots on your behalf. Tan-coloured and wing-chipped ones like the one on Kaibutsu-kun on TV last week, right? Okay. Yup, I miss you too," he replied, hanging up and proceeding to the shoe shop that was just a distance ahead of the stationery shop.

_一人でも　二人でも_

_あの約束はきっと_

_変わらないから　今も大切なもの（光るよ）_

_By myself　Or the two of us together_

_That promise will never change_

_It's precious now too (shining brightly)_

Sho finally found one automatic teller machine right beside a shoe shop across the street. He withdrew some money  and walked past the shoe shop. He saw Nino picking up a boot, admiring it before asking the shop assistant to get him a new pair of Jun's size. He decided to just drop in for a quick hello. He strode into the shop, and Nino looked at him in surprise.

"Sho-kun," Nino greeted, "I'm buying Jun's present."

Sho smiled pleasantly at Nino. "Me too. I'm shopping with Aiba," he replied.

Nino's eyes somehow conveyed a slight tint of wist.

_少しずつ　少しずつ_

_過ごした日々も鮮やかに変わってゆく_

_そしてまだ見ぬ明日を信じてるから_

_Little by little 　Bit by bit_

_The days we've passed will change into something brilliant too_

_And then, we'll still be believing in the tomorrow we can't see_

Sho walked Nino out of the shop.

"I'll take you to Aiba-chan, so you won't be shopping alone, ne?" Sho suggested, holding up an umbrella above both him and Nino. Nino's eyes widened in shock.

"No! I.. I shouldn't.." Nino declined, his words spilling out shortly from his mouth. Sho looked at him, confused.

"Why not? Nino, are you okay?" Sho asked, concerned.

"But... you are shopping with Aiba. It is a shopping date, ne? I'd only be in the way if I came along," Nino answered, trying his best not to give in to the intensified pull at his heart. He turned to walk off when Sho held him back by the arm.

"I don't understand. What is it that is so wrong about you following me and Aiba shopping?" Sho asked pleadingly.

"Because the two of you are written for each other and I can't stand in the way like that!" Nino yelled and backed away from Sho.

_あの日の僕たちは素直になれなくて_

_君の横顔ずっと　見つめたまま季節は過ぎたね?_

_（目を閉じれば　切なく愛しいよ）_

_The two of us from those days couldn't be honest with each other_

_I always passed the seasons by gazing at you from the side, didn't I?_

_(If I close my eyes, this is a painful love)_

Sho stood there in shock as his mind absorbed Nino's outburst. Part of him was shocked that Nino felt that he could get in the way of Aiba and himself. But the other part of him was elated because it knew WHY Nino felt that way. And that part of him was rather glad that it was not just him all along.

Nino seemed to finally understand what he had just said and buried his face in his palms in complete embarrassment. He did it. He unknowingly blurted out his feelings. And now he had just complicated things between Sho and Aiba. It was all his fault and he was going to undo the damage the hard way.

"Nino, listen. I-" Sho tried to convey his thoughts, but Nino simply pushed him away and pulled out his umbrella.

"I'll see you at Jun's celebration, Sho-san," Nino stated coldly before dashing quickly down the street, not caring if Sho was chasing and calling his name or not.

_いつかの『愛してる』言葉にできなくて_

_柔らかな記憶は（輝くよ）_

_こらえた涙零れ落ちて風に包まれていた_

_Unable to one day say the words "I love you"_

_The gentle memories (are shining)_

_The tears I'd been fighting back spilled over and were hidden by the wind_

Sho stared after Nino, his mind completely overwhelmed and his heart aching painfully at the sight of Nino running away from him. He leaned against the display of the shoe shop, completely lost. If there was a way to settle all of this without hurting Nino, Aiba, Ohno and himself, he would gladly take it. Now that Nino had blurted out his feelings, Sho was no longer able to deny his own. But with Nino running away from him, probably out of consideration for Aiba's and Ohno's feelings, he knew it was going to be a difficult thing to handle. He trudged back to the accessory shop and an impatient Aiba, paying for the sunglasses before accompanying Aiba wordlessly out of the shop.

  
_あの日の僕たちは（あの日の僕たちは）_   


_素直になれなくて（素直になれなくて）_

_The two of us from those days (The two of us from those days)_

_Couldn't be honest with each other (Couldn't be honest with each other)_

Nino, in the mean time, was tearing his way down the streets, his wet eyes looking out for a taxi. He managed to hail one and the taxi drove him back to his home, with Nino staring out of the window and tears streaming down from the side of his right eye.

  
Sho stared blankly ahead as he walked with Aiba down the wet streets. Even as Aiba continued chatting gaily about plans for Jun's party, Sho could only give Aiba reassuring smiles and give some small suggestions. But other than that, he knew his own heart was elsewhere- searching, embracing... and loving.

  
_あの日の僕たちは..._   


_The two of us from those days..._

  
Nino slumped down on the floor with his back against the door. He shut his eyes, allowing the tears he had held back to fall silently down his face. He held his knees to his chest and rested his head between them, sniffling and hiccuping as his tears tumbled out uncontrollably onto the floor. The boots and chain necklace lay just a short distance away from him, now as forgotten as his resolve to stop thinking or longing for Sho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: Goodness, writing this was so sad that it even made my own Sakumiya + Ohmiya heart break. *dabs eyes with tissue*  
> First go at a songfic, so I really hope the song actually fits. I have been deliberating between this and.. oh-wait-that's-for-the-next-chapter *cough cough* . Anyway... what do you think? I've probably broken the poor things enough already, ne? XD
> 
> P.S. Credits go to yarukizero.LJ.com for lyrics~ :D :D :D


	6. After Goodbye

For a long while, Nino and Sho had not spoken to each other.

Before long, Jun's party arrived, and everyone gathered at his house- with Nino and Ohno arriving and holding up all of Jun's presents and Sho and Aiba bringing up a cake. Jun smiled thankfully at them hugging hus girlfriend,Mao , who stood beside him. Sure, he had celebrated his birthday with the other models the day before, but nothing could beat the company of close friends.

"Happy birthday to MatsuJun~ Happy birthday to you~" everyone sang. They cheered as Jun blew out the candle, earning a kiss on the cheek from his girlfriend.

"Happy birthday, Jun, " she spoke shyly. Jun grinned and kissed her back on the cheek, earning catcalls from their friends. Aiba, now excited that the fun was about to begin, hopped up and stood in front of them. "Shall we play a game?"he asked.

Jun winced at Aiba's enthusiasm. "Why does it sound so ominous..." he remarked. Aiba pouted at him.

"Come on.... It'll be fun! " Aiba insisted.

"Well, it will depend on the game, ne? What kind of a game is it?" Sho asked.  
Aiba grinned mischievously at the five in front of him.

"... Truth or Dare~" he sing-songed, holding up an empty beer bottle. Nino looked at him sceptically.

"Mou, Aiba-chan, we aren't kids anymore! What exactly is there to ask us about anyway? " Nino said.

"Plus, " Ohno added, curling an arm around Nino's to pull him closer, "wouldn't we all pick 'truth' instead of 'dare'? Where's all the fun in that? "

Nino nodded in agreement while leaning on Ohno's side.

"Well, it will either be that, a jankenpon tournament or charades," Aiba stated flatly.

Nino frowned. "I should have brought my Wii," he mumbled.

Sho pondered and then stood up beside Aiba, his eyes trying to avoid staring at Nino.

"How about putting a twist to it?"Sho suggested, and everyone turned to look at him curiously.

"After the bottle points to anyone," Sho explained, "that person will make his choice. But after he is done, he will choose between the two people beside him for the other. That way, if anyone of us picks 'truth', either one or the other will have to pick 'dare'."  
Everyone seemed to nod, understanding his idea.

"I think that's good," Mao replied.

"Sho-chan is so smart, ne~" Aiba cheered, giving his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. Sho froze for a second, his eyes now finding Nino's resigned ones. Realising their eye contact, Nino looked away, amusing himself with Ohno's fingers.

The lights were off, with small candles surrounding the bottle in circle. The six of them sat around.

"This feels so weird, " Nino commented.

"Almost like a seance... " Ohno added with a low voice.

Sho immediately looked around behind him, feeling a little paranoid.

"Oi. What's with that inauspicious talk on my birthday? " Jun mock-scolded, patting a nervous Sho beside him.

"Then, let's begin~" Mao said, spinning the bottle.

The bottle spun quick on the spot, its tip whizzing past everyone's nervous gazes.  
Finally it pointed at.. none other than Mao herself.

Jun and Nino looked at each other across Mao in shock while everyone laughed.

"Truth then! Though I think I know what's coming... " she said.

"Was it love at first sight when you first met Jun? " he asked. Mao looked at Jun before bursting into fits of laughter.

"No! In fact I... uh.. I hated his guts... " she replied between short breaths and everyone laughed heartily along with her.

"Eh!? I thought that the two of them were almost a match made in heaven! " Sho answered honestly.

"No, " Jun admitted, " I actually bullied her quite a bit, "

"But that was how you showed your affection, ne? " Aiba said, and the couple nodded.

"Well, in the end when he confessed he did tell me why he kept picking on me. It was so that when thinking of that fleeting,  
extraordinary moment outside the daily grind of life, I would think of him. Even if it was memories of him picking on me, "she explained.

"... this is totally a gathering of middle school kids.... " Nino remarked, burying his face in his palm. While everyone laughed at his comment, he could see Sho smiling softly at him through the gaps of his fingers.

"Now," Mao announced, "since Jun had answered the question with me..." she then turned to grin sweetly at Nino.

Nino sighed, exasperated.  
"Okay. Fire away. What dare? " he asked.

Jun whipped out his phone. "I have a useful application for this one," he says while starting up the application on his phone and then handing it to Nino.

Nino tapped the 'dare' button.

"Without telling the person on your right, grab him for a slow dance to a song," it said.  
Nino arched an eyebrow and looked at Ohno who sat on his right.

"Eh... Jun?" he called, passing the phone back to Jun. Jun looked at the screen and smirked. He then tapped around on the screen a little and suddenly, "If You're Not The One" by Daniel Bedingfield started playing.

"Ah! This song! I love it!" Mao exclaimed, hugging Jun. Jun winked at Nino and gestured for him to start. Nino chuckled a little and grabbed Ohno's hand, pulling him up.

"Ah-Nino!" Ohno spoke in surprise as Nino wrapped his arms around Ohno's neck and swayed side to side a little. Ohno seemed to get the flow of things and started to move uncertainly to the side, following Nino's pace.

"I don't wanna run away  
But I can't take it, I don't understand  
If I'm not made for you  
Then why does my heart tell me that I am?"

Sho watched Nino dance with Ohno, his heart now tugging with greater intensity than before. Because just a week ago, Nino had blurted out his feelings for him before avoiding him. Even now, he still avoided him. He felt so lost, so hurt that Nino had left him hanging. So whilst everyone else was cheering on Ohno and Nino in their dance, he somehow could only manage a thin smile while wishing so badly that it was him dancing with Nino instead.

But little did Sho realise that Nino was thinking the same thing- the song itself just seemed to echo his thoughts about him and Sho. While indeed he had been ignoring Sho for the rest of the week, the truth was that he was all he could think of the whole time. Nino looked down at the ground, and then back at Ohno as they slow-danced wondering why Ohno's name was written on his chest in the first place. He could easily understand the ease that they shared while getting along well while sometimes touching each other. But all that had felt more friendly than romantic. And it definitely felt different from what he felt from Sho.

"From Sho..." he thought. But before he could think further, the music had stopped and they stood there in the middle of the living room.

"Ah. Er.. Erm... the dare read 'Without telling the person on your right, grab him for a slow dance to a song.', so..." Nino muttered in a low voice. Ohno listened and grinned, linking his arm around Nino's and strode back to their position around the circle of candlelights.

"Let's start the next round!" Jun said, spinning the bottle. The bottle pivoted a little on its center from the force of Jun's hand, and but soon settled for a smooth spin. It then slowed to a stop, its tip landing in... Sho's direction.

"I'm picking 'truth'," he said. While everyone pondered over a question to ask Sho, Nino slowly raised his hand.

"Would you rather go with the flow of what life has planned for you or would you do anything and everything you wish so you will not regret?" he asked.

Sho froze, staring right at Nino. He wondered about what Nino really meant when he asked that question. It could either just mean as it said or... it could be asking him whether he would stick to how fate had arranged their names to be or fight it and change the circumstances.

"I... I know I only live once, so... I will rather do things that I want so that I will not regret," he replied honestly. Everyone nodded at his answer with understanding.

"Maa.. I shall be different and volunteer for a dare, ne?" Aiba said. He took Jun's phone and tapped the 'dare' button. His eyes widened in surprise and he handed Jun the phone. Jun read it and his eyes widened too.

"Kiss the person on your left," it read.  
Aiba looked to his left to see Sho looking right at him expectantly.

"Well?" Sho prodded, "what did it say?"

Aiba flushed hotly in red before pulling Sho's chin close.

"It told me to kiss you," Aiba whispered, before pressing his lips lightly on Sho's before pulling back. Sho simply froze there, his eyes wide in shock.

Little did the pair know that while everyone was applauding Aiba's dare, Nino had snuck out of the room and left the house after lying to Ohno, Mao and Jun that he had an urgent call from work to take care of. He walked away briskly from the house. He could not bear to see Sho and Aiba together anymore.

"Aaand that was a good one by Aiba-chan!" Jun exclaimed.

"By the way, Nino-kun had just left," Mao informed, stunning both Aiba and, most definitely, Sho.

"Huh? Why? We were all having fun!" Aiba pouted.

"Well, he had a call from work," Mao said. But Sho did not want to drag this on even further. He immediately dashed past them and ran out of the house before prepping up his umbrella- it had started to rain heavily.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Nino stared up at the gloomy, rainy skies as he padded his way softly on the puddles on the concrete pavement.

サヨナラ今...　サヨナラから...  
Goodbye for now...　This is goodbye...

Around him, the streets were just as rainy and gloomy as it had been just a week ago. Well, except that while he was shopping there for Jun's presents a week ago, he was ïtrying to erase the scene that had just been burned into his memory.

ひとつずつ　ひとつずつ　僕らが見てた世界は  
寂しさを　置き去りに　日常へと飲み込まれる  
One by one　One by one　All the worlds we saw together  
They get swallowed up by everyday life, leaving behind sadness

Nino strolled into the nearest ramen shop he could find, sitting down quietly while ordering a bowl of noodles. The shop seemed so familiar, so homely and welcoming. It was quite like the one near his house where he had eaten with Sho, Ohno, Aiba and Jun quite a while ago.

いくつもの“もしも”が　まとわりついたまま  
どんな言葉を並べたとしても　君はもういない  
Many “what ifs” are still following me around  
No matter how I try to order the words, you're not here

He ordered a bowl of ramen and stared outside the window, watching the raindrops fall onto the window pane. Many questions spun in his head as he pondered over his thoughts earlier. He turned to look outside behind him, staring at the wet roads outside.  
"Nah..." he thought sadly, "he can't possibly be here.."

 

にぎやかなこの街の片隅で　何も出来ない僕がいる  
空回り擦り切れてゆく　心がまだ震えてる  
In a corner of this lively city, there is a me that can't do anything  
Getting nowhere, I'm just wearing myself out　My heart's still shaking

Sho jogged out of Jun's house and dashed along the pavements, not caring that running simply splashed the puddles around him and wetted his shoes. He had dashed from place to place along the cold, wet streets, his eyes anxiously searching for Nino. There were so many things that he had wanted to tell him. Like how he believed it was fate that brought them together on that first bump on Nino's first day. Like how he loved Nino's magic tricks that he had performed when the group had gone for dinners together. Like how he was no longer afraid of being honest with his feelings.

白いため息から　零れてゆく　君の温もりさえ　思い出せず  
出るはずもない答え探し疲れて　今日も眠りにつく  
White breath escapes in a sigh　I can't even remember your warmth  
Worn out searching for an answer that shouldn't even be given, I fall asleep again today

Nino soon strolled out of the shop, the cold air hitting him once again. He shivered, exhaling in small puffs of white breath as he walked back home. Somehow, eating ramen was not the same without the group around. Or Sho's legs brushing against his, which had made him feel even warmer. But well, it had been so long- he could hardly remember how warm it felt.  
He walked past a bus stop and paused. He turned and looked wistfully into the direction he had walked from, and then smiled softly to himself, shaking his head.  
"I'm an idiot. Even though I know he won't come, I keep wishing he would..." he mumbled softly to himself.

もう少し　あと少し　強くありたいと願えば  
その度に　臆病だと　思い知らされるだけ  
A little more　If I wish that I want to be a little stronger  
Every time I do, I'll just be made to realize how much of a coward I am

Sho leaned against the shop display of the ramen shop, breathing in deeply. He had gone to the many shops that he had considered Nino would enter, but he just could not find him. He looked up at the sky that poured rain relentlessly on the ground. Muttering a silent prayer for strength to find Nino, he took a deep breath and jogged out again with his umbrella and continued his search, just in time to see a bus pass him by.

 

それぞれの記憶は　かたちを変えるけど  
君の言葉に嘘はないことを　ずっと信じていたい  
Each memory might change shape  
But I want to keep believe that what you said wasn't a lie

 

Nino's house was just a short distance off from where he was walking. He shuffled slowly on the wet pavement, feeling more and more convinced that Sho did not care about him. After all, he did confess unintentionally a week ago, but he did not even reply him. The skies continued to rain down their tears on Nino's umbrella, as if crying sadly for his unrequited emotions.  
"Could it all... be just me?" he wondered sadly as he strode. He, however, did not hear urgent footsteps on the roads just behind him.

どれだけ時間が流れたとしても　忘れられない君がいる  
いびつなまま抱え込んだ　心がまだ疼いてる  
No matter how much time passes, you're unforgettable  
Carrying my distorted heart in my arms, it's still aching

It had been quite a while since Sho had left Jun's house, and he still could not find Nino. He knew it was getting late- it was nearing 1 a.m. in the morning. But yet, he just could not bring himself to give up on finding Nino just yet. He knew that if he did not tell him then, he would never have the courage or opportunity to tell him so at all.

 

いつか見た夢なら　離れてゆく　僕を呼ぶ声さえ　かすれてゆく  
行くあてのない涙は気づかれぬまま　そっと流れてゆく  
The dreams we saw back then are leaving me　My voice calls out, growing hoarse  
Aimlessly wandering, unaware of the tears that gently fall down

 

Just then, he noted in the corner of his eye a lone figure trudging away from him. That slicked-back hairstyle and small build. Sho instantly recognised him and started running towards him,his heart now pumping adrenaline into his blood as he called out in the rain.  
"NINO!"  
Nino stopped short in his steps.  
"No... it can't be..." he thought and turned around slowly. He then caught sight of him, the very person whom he had assumed would not chase after him- Sho.

 

あの日　止まったままの世界で  
何を伝えたらいい　今も分からないよ  
The world has stopped since that day  
What should I have told you?　Even now, I don't know

The only thing Sho felt like doing as he neared Nino was pulling him close. He left his umbrella to drop on the ground and wrapped his arms around Nino in a tight hug. Nino hesitated as his eyes watered, but returned the embrace, letting his umbrella fall. The rainclouds pelted raindrops mercilessly at the pair, the cold air forcing them to hug each other even closer to draw warmth.  
"Why did you come?" Nino choked, his eyes now becoming as wet as his rain-soaked hair.  
Sho squinted through the rainwater in his eyes and smiled gently as he wiped Nino's tears away.  
"I'll show you why," he said, sliding his thumb down to his chin to pull it closer.

どれだけ時間が流れたとしても  
No matter how much time passes...

Their lips met, softly and shyly. And both of them finally knew- they belonged right there.

 

にぎやかなこの街の片隅で　何も出来ない僕がいる  
空回り擦り切れてゆく　心がまだ震えてる  
白いため息から　零れてゆく　君の温もりさえ　思い出せず  
出るはずもない答え探し疲れて　今日も眠りにつく  
In a corner of this lively city, there is a me that can't do anything  
Getting nowhere, I'm just wearing myself out　My heart's still shaking  
White breath escapes in a sigh　I can't even remember your warmth  
Worn out searching for an answer that shouldn't even be given, I fall asleep again today

 

Without breaking contact, Nino's hands traveled up Sho's shirt to wrap around his neck. Their lips molded more firmly against each other as Sho held Nino close with his left arm that draped around his waist. His other hand massaged his neck to relax him. Nino groaned into the kiss in pleasure, parting his lips slightly. Sho took the chance and plunged his tongue in to prod against Nino's, effectively deepening the kiss and short-circuiting both their train of thoughts. Every thought about the names of their chests and the consequences of their forbidden romance flew out of their minds as they lost themselves in the moment. They had taken so many turns and detours for the past weeks and months, but at last they finally knew that they were truly made for each other.  
They pulled apart, gasping for air, feeling the rain start to ease into gentle trickles and drizzles. Sho pulled Nino close again for a tight hug.

忘れないから　  
Because I can't forget...

"Nino, I'm sorry I have not been totally honest with you," Sho whispered softly, "the truth is... ever since we had gone out with Aiba and Ohno on a double-date, I had been in love with-"

忘れないから  
Because I can't forget...

Nino had cut him off promptly with a shy kiss on the lips. "I know," he replied, "you told me just now when you kissed me." He then smiled warmly and hugged Sho again.  
(サヨナラ今...　  
サヨナラから...  
サヨナラ今...　)  
(Goodbye for now...　  
This is goodbye...  
Goodbye for now.)

"And I love you too, Sho," he whispered. Sho could only lean into Nino's embrace, feeling the warmth radiate off their bodies. They stayed in each others' arms for a little longer. For once in a long while... they felt right at home.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
They finally pulled apart, and Sho walked Nino back to his house, their fingers now entwined.  
"By the way," Sho said, "can we count that kiss in the rain just now as our first?"  
Nino looked at him and chuckled, "Oh right, Aiba kissed you just now, ne?"  
Sho nodded slowly.  
"Alright then," Nino said, "let's make everything from here on our first times, ne? Our first dates, our first kisses... our first times can count too." He added the last part with a cheeky wink.  
Sho smiled, then stopped, tugging at Nino's hand to stop him. Nino looked at him curiously.  
"Nino, can you promise me something?" Sho asked.  
Nino looked into his eyes, letting him elaborate.  
"Promise me that you will not run away from these feelings again. We took such a long time to come to this, and I want us both to face whatever comes together. Even if it means that we will re-write our own destinies," he said.  
Nino looked down on the ground. Indeed, he had been running away from everything for a little too long. But now that he and Sho were together, he wondered what else could stop them both from changing their destinies.  
"I promise," Nino spoke softly. Sho smiled, relieved, and then kissed him on the forehead. They then turned to continue walking to Nino's house, with each step full of renewed resolve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW WAS IT???? :D :D :D Hopefully I have healed all broken Sakumiya hearts from the previous chapter and we can look forward to our Magnet pair facing everything head-on, ne~ =^^=
> 
> Credits go to yarukizero@LJ.com for lyric translations.


	7. Finding reasons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMGG SO SORRY TO KEEP YOU GUYS WAITING. XD Right now, the crucial part of bringing Sho and Nino together is done with. But how will they move on from here to deal with Aiba and Ohno? We shall see in the next few chapters, ne? :D

Chapter 6: Finding Reasons  
Sunlight streamed in through the windows.The white translucent curtains fluttered in the wind, scattering more light into the bedroom. Nino's eyes opened gradually, his eyes taking in the bright light that awakened him from slumber. It was quite like any ordinary day, but yet something felt different. And then he felt himself being pulled closer in a hug. He turned to look and a soft smile lit up his face. It was not a dream anymore. For all those weeks and months, he had dreamed of Sho and his silhouette. But right at that moment, it was really him who was asleep beside him.  
He turned on the bed to face Sho, his eyes watching how Sho's sloping shoulders rose and fell with his breathing. Nino had loaned him one of his shirts after they had gotten soaked in the rain the previous night. Although it was slightly smaller in size, they seemed to cling comfortably on Sho's body. Nino breathed softly as he watched Sho breathe softly in his sleep whilst smiling like a child having a sweet dream.

"Done staring?" Sho's voice startled him and he looked away, embarrassed. Sho's eyes flitted open mischievously as he gave a small chuckle and drew Nino even closer to his embrace.

"Good morning," he whispered in his ear, dropping a kiss on Nino's neck. Nino flushed a little as he greeted his lover with a light kiss.

"Good morning," he replied, draping his arms around Sho's body. They lay there for a little longer, silently acknowledging that their time together could only last so long under the present circumstances.

"How will we tell them, Sho?" Nino asked. Sho gave a sigh as he laid his head on Nino's shoulder.

"Other than the whole truth, I have no idea how else," he replied.

"But Aiba-chan... he won't take it so well now, will he?" Nino pointed out. Sho nodded slowly and sadly.

"I feel really sorry for doing this to Aiba-kun and Ohno-kun," Sho admitted, staring up above and silently wishing that an answer would appear to him on the blank white-washed concrete.

"Me too. However," Nino reasoned, "if we continue our relationships with them while loving each other, it will not be fair to them either, don't you think?"

“True…” Sho mumbled and leaned into Nino’s warmth, enjoying the last few minutes that they had together before preparing to face the day ahead- mundane work routines, and awkward breaks with their peers.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nino stepped into his office to find that Ohno was seated there, grinning up at him. “Morning, Nino,” he greeted, pulling him close for a hug. Nino involuntarily tensed in his arms, earning a slightly confused look from Ohno.

“Nino? Are you okay? Do you need a doctor?” he asked, concerned.

“No, it’s okay, I… I’m just a little tired,” Nino responded, slumping on his chair. Ohno pouted, but gave an understanding nod.

“I’ll just.. well, make you some coffee then,” Ohno replied, shuffling off to the pantry. Nino exhaled after Ohno left the room and swivelled around on his chair to stare out of the window. Explaining things to Ohno was going to be a lot harder than he had thought it would be. Because he knew that unless he could answer for what the name on his chest really meant, he would be quite incapable of breaking the news to him. Troubled, he stared out through the window, and could barely hear Ohno walk in with a cup of coffee in his hand before disappearing shortly from the office.

 

Sho was about to walk on set for a short photoshoot for a new variety show when a pair of arms flew around him.

"Sho-chan! I'll be working with you today, so take care of me, ne~" Aiba greeted, hugging Sho. Everyone around them looked at the pair bemusedly and continued with their work. Sho, however, could only stand there stiffly in Aiba's arms. Aiba seemed to notice that and looked at Sho.

"Sho-chan? Are you alright?" Aiba questioned. Sho gave a weak smile.

"Masaki, I'm fine. Just... a little exhausted," he said. Aiba narrowed his eyes at him.

"You look pretty well-rested to me... Well, anyway, the photoshoot will begin in a short while, so prepare yourself on set. I'll want to see an even more charming Sho-kun on the poster for the new variety show, ne?" Aiba said.

Sho nodded and turned to the set, wondering how he could ever tell Aiba about it.

That afternoon, the five gathered at their usual spot for lunch. But something was amiss and Aiba, Ohno and Jun could feel it. Sho and Nino seemed to be quieter than usual. Sho stirred his noodles with his chopsticks slowly while Nino stared distractedly at his hamburger set. Ohno and Jun soon chatted casually about the upcoming modelling shoots and art pieces due. Aiba ate his ramen silently, his eyes wandering over Sho's slouching form.

That lunch, as expected, had been an awkward one. Except that it was not just so to Nino and Sho, but to everyone of them.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"This is harder than I thought," Nino admitted when he met Sho for dinner that same night.

"I'm not sure about Ohno-kun, but I definitely know that Aiba-chan is rather... well... emotionally-vested in this relationship," Sho spoke, poking his fork slowly in his plate of spaghetti.

"We still can't bear the thought of hurting them in such a manner, eh?" Nino sighed, giving a sad smile as he looked down at his own plate of spaghetti.

Sho looked up at Nino, and gave him an encouraging smile.

"Let's just enjoy this moment for now- if fate had really destined us to be together, then time and circumstances will make them understand," Sho advised. He then twirled his spaghetti around on his fork and held it out to Nino.

"Aaah~" he cooed, holding the forkful of spaghetti to hover near Nino's lips. Nino gave him a glare.

"Sho, are you serious about feeding me here? And with the same thing you're eating too?" Nino asked.

"Why not? Doesn't food taste even better when someone you love feeds you with it? Aaah~" Sho replied, coaxing Nino's mouth open with his fork. Nino grudgingly chewed on the fed pasta, but before long a smile appeared on his face as well and they both laughed at their silliness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seated a good ten metres away from the pair, Ohno and Aiba sat together at a table.

"Ne, Ohno-kun. I'm sorry I had to take up your time," Aiba said, looking down into his hands in slight embarrassment.

"No, no! It's fine. It's been a long while since I last ate out anyway," Ohno spoke, chewing on his lasagna. Aiba twirled his spaghetti on his fork and ate slowly. After a short period of silence, Aiba decided to pop Ohno the question that he had in mind the entire day.

"Ohno-kun... don't you think there is something wrong with Sho today?" Aiba asked. Ohno looked up at him, surprised.

"How so?" he asked. Aiba shifted a little nervously in his seat.

"Well... he seemed to be rather distracted these days, greatly absorbed in his thoughts. Sometimes, he'd look out somewhere and give a sigh. I think he's troubled about something," he said.

Ohno tilted his head, his eyes now widening in slight interest.  
"Actually," Ohno replied, "I thought Nino has been acting strangely as well. Remember lunch this afternoon?"

"Yes! " Aiba agreed, "Nino was so quiet! The most he had spoken was.. well... about five words. Usually it was you who did not speak much,"

"I wonder what could be bothering both of them," Ohno said, now finding his lasagna lacking in taste. Suddenly, Aiba froze as his eyes caught a familiar pair of sloping shoulders and a pair of golden-brown eyes.

"Ohno-kun, can we move?" he asked in a whisper, his eyes never leaving those deep brown ones of Sho.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Have you wondered why is it that names apart from ours are written on our bodies?" Nino asked.

Sho paused for a moment. "I don't really know. Maybe we are really going against destiny itself simply by being together," he said, his fingers tracing Nino's knuckles sadly.

Nino looked down at Sho's fingers.

"Maybe.. just maybe.. they were there to bring us together," he mumbled.

Sho looked up at him incredulously.  
"How is that possible?" he asked.

"My relationship with Ohno," Nino proceeded to explain, "has developed nothing much beyond that of really close friends. I figured that out when we danced together yesterday. The feelings I had were more of care rather than that of passion. What I felt with you, though, was entirely different." Suddenly, he looked a little unsure and turned to Sho.

"How exactly do you feel about Aiba?" he questioned.

Sho pondered over his spaghetti, his mind now deep-seated in thought. How did he feel? Was affection or passion? Companionship or lifelong partnership? Why did the fireworks and sparks intensify whenever Nino is near, and not Aiba? Before long, Sho's eyes slowly widened in understanding as he realised that Nino had a point. What he had felt for Aiba may not be that of a lover, but a lifelong friend. They were soulmates in a way that they can understand each other completely on many levels. The person that he would love with his entirety, however, is most definitely Nino.

Nino, seeing that Sho had gotten a slight hang on the idea, continued with a smile on his face, "This probably sounds really weird, but I think the names did serve their purpose of bringing soul mates together. While in most cases, they bring two people linked by their names together, in our case they had served a different role- to point us to the person we are made for."

Sho nodded thoughtfully. "But what about them? What will happen to them after we've... well... confessed everything?" he asked.

Nino looked down to stare at his shoes. He himself had no idea.

"Maybe they will be able to find their own happiness, even if it's not with us," he replied, weaving his fingers to intertwine with Sho's.

"Aiba!" a familiar voice called out, making both men jump, their blood running cold. They turned to see Aiba sprinting out towards the exit of the restaurant, with Ohno following closely behind. Sho and Nino looked at each other in shock.

"I..think..." Nino began, but before he could say anything else, Sho had grabbed his hand and left a 50 dollar bill on the cashier counter before dashing out onto the streets with him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Aiba could not see clearly in front of him- his vision was blurred with tears that had threatened to fall in the middle of the restaurant. He could barely hear Ohno's worried voice calling for him to stop as he ran down the streets until he was tired. He finally reached his home and slammed the door shut.

"Aiba-kun! Aiba-kun!" Ohno called out his name, knocking hard on the door.

"Oh-chan!" Nino called as he and Sho neared them. Ohno stopped knocking and gave the pair a stone-cold stare. Sho could feel that the air between them and Ohno was especially tense.

"What are you doing here? Are you happy now that you made Aiba-kun completely heartbroken?" Ohno questioned, his eyes glaring fiercely at Sho, "and you had to steal my lover for this!"

"Ohno Satoshi, you will NOT talk to Sho like that!" Nino scolded. Ohno stared disbelievingly at Nino.

"... we are going back to formalities now? What is the meaning of this, Nino? You are cheating on me with this jerk?!" Ohno asked.

"It's not called cheating, because we really are made for each other!" Nino answered, trying his best to keep his volume down.  
Ohno laughed shakingly and spat back,"Nonsense! You know very well who you belong to, and that is no-"

"Can all of you please be quiet?!" a voice shouted at the three from inside the apartment.

The three men outside looked at each other and sighed.

"Masaki, I know it is too much to ask right now, but can you please let me in? I will explain everything truthfully," Sho pleaded.

No answer.

Sho sighed, resigned. He stepped away from the door and was about to walk past Nino and Ohno when the door opened slightly to reveal a teary-eyed Aiba.

"Only Sho-chan can see me at the moment," he spoke softly.  
Sho turned to the door and stepped in. He turned back, staring into both Ohno's and Nino's eyes apologetically before closing the door behind him and Aiba.


	8. Revelations

The living room was dimly lit as Sho followed Aiba to the sofa for a seat. He sat down beside him, knowing that Aiba was most definitely feeling tense and hurt from everything that had happened thus far. The pair sat in silence for a short while before Sho decided to break it carefully.

"Aiba-kun.."

"When did you realise you liked Nino?" Aiba asked softly.

"After the double date, when we saw Ohno confessing to Nino," he admitted. Aiba looked at him, mildly surprised.

"That was months ago, wasn't it?" Aiba asked. Sho nodded slowly.

"And it was only yesterday halfway through Jun's birthday that we confessed to each other," Sho replied.

"So it had been such a long while. Even then, he..." Aiba's thoughts trailed off.

"Masaki, listen," Sho explained, "I have tried to make this work. I honestly did. But it took me a while before I realised that while I really do care for you, I simply couldn't bring myself to love another other than Nino."

Aiba looked up at him, his eyes flaring indignantly, "Then what about us? What about me? What about everything we had before Nino ever came?"

Before Sho could say anything, Aiba removed his shirt, revealing Sho's name written across the top of his heart. 

"Then what about this?" he asked, pointing to it, " I don't understand! Aren't we meant to be together if our names are written on each other?"

Sho looked down, taking Aiba's arm slowly.

"Let me explain," Sho said patiently, "I understand that it is a well-known urban legend that everyone whose names are written on each other are meant to be together. And I understand why we could be said to be soulmates for each other- we connect well in so many ways and on so many levels. I mean, we both love food,"

"A lot," Aiba agreed, his voice quivering slightly.

"We have similar views on everything, including coincidentally matching outfits," Sho added.

"And we bump into each other by sheer chance sometimes at the same clothes shop," Aiba said.

Sho smiled at the memories, and then continued, "In many ways, it might seem like we are meant for each other. But Masaki, it's because I care deeply about you that I realise it is not fair for me to continue dating you while thinking of another. I-"

"Then don't! Don't think about Nino or Oh-chan! Think only of us! Of me!" Aiba pleaded. Sho looked at Aiba sadly.

"I can't. Even when I never thought of him while being with you, he will somehow constantly appear in my dreams at night- whether it's his silhouette, his shadows or his brown and gold eyes. That's precisely what being with the person you were made for is like, isn't it?"

Aiba grew silent at this. Deep in him, he knew that Sho had a point- he never had dreams of Sho or of anyone he really knew- perhaps only bits and pieces of the picture, soft brown eyes that were vaguely different from Sho's, slightly more balanced shoulders than Sho's.. but he was convinced that it was only but a dream and that it did not matter at all.

Sho, upon seeing Aiba pondering over what he said, gave a soft sigh. He placed his hands on Aiba's shoulders, looking at him in the eyes.

"It will not be fair for you if I continue dating you while loving Nino in secret. Even if I can keep up the affection in the short run, I cannot guarantee that I can do the same far into the future. It may be tiring for me, and even more so for you." he paused here, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"You deserve to be loved in a way that is better than it is right now, and I believe that's why our names are written on each other- to point each other to true happiness in our lives," Sho finally finished. Aiba could only stare back in surprise at Sho's words. Now that was something he had never thought about. But... for him to take in Sho's theory which was vastly different from what he had known all along...

"... Sho-chan, I need time to absorb this. Please leave now," Masaki said. Sho stayed where he was, looking at Aiba worriedly. Aiba looked up at him and patted his shouler lightly.

"I know. I'll be fine. Just give me some time to ponder over all this," he said. After hesitating for a while, Sho decided to leave Aiba to his thoughts.

"When you are ready to give me your thoughts on this, do tell me okay?" Sho asked. Aiba nodded, his eyes still focused on the floor. Sho finally left, though he looked back at Aiba's home from time to time. Aiba, on the other hand, could no longer control his tears and just let them fall in the dim light of his home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nino and Ohno sat at their all-too-familiar hamburger eatery, the one that Ohno first took him out to eat. Except that this time, they ordered nothing but two cups of soda. Ohno stared sternly across at Nino, who sighed and took a sip on his soda.

"Oh-cha...Ohno-kun, I know that you are completely upset," Nino began.

"Even that in itself is an understatement," Ohno spoke bitterly.

"Ohno-kun, you'll have to listen or you won't understand what's going on," Nino spoke firmly. 

"You're right, I don't understand, Nino," Ohno continued anyway, " haven't we been so happy together? Remember our hamburger date? Our double date at the zoo, bookshop, art gallery and arcade? Don't they matter to you?"

"Ohno," Nino cut him off promptly with a stern voice. Ohno understood that he had to keep quiet. After taking a deep breath,Nino finally spoke his mind.

"They do matter. They mean as much to me as they do to you," he replied, "but what if I told you that during those happy moments, you really could have been with someone else who was truly made for you and who could have made those memories even happier?"

"Then what do the names on our chests mean? Is it just a tattoo? Only a scribble on our names just for show? Even then, doesn't it signify that you are mine?" Ohno asked.

"No, but it does point you to who is yours," Nino replied.

Ohno stared right at him, "Stop playing mind games with me, Nino. I'm not in the mood,"

"I'm not," Nino said, "and I'm being completely serious here. The names on our chests serve only to bring us to the person who will point us towards our happiness. This means that the person who will be with you may not necessarily be me, but it could be someone else related."

"And where did you get this absurd theory from? What about Mao and Jun? They hated each other even though they had each other's names and now they are dating! How will you explain that?!" Ohno asked.

"The thing about relationships and life is its lack of predictability, Ohno-kun," Nino explained, "and eventually, their names did point out each other's happiness, though in most cases it is with each other."

"If it's so unpredictable, how would anyone know who is made for them?!"

"Think, Ohno-kun!" Nino spoke, his tone slightly exasperated, "during the course of this relationship, have you EVER had a burning desire for me to the extent that you even dream of me? Have you?"

Ohno stopped short, his mind now recalling images he had seen all along in his dream. That explained a lot- the eager brown eyes that he was sure did not belong to Nino, a slightly taller stature than himself...

"Oh-chan," Nino finally called, "you will find someone else who will love you more than I do. Believe me on this."

Ohno lowered his eyes as he took everything in and looked down at his shirt, as if staring through it at the name on his chest.

"Aphrodite screwed up this one, didn't she?" he whispered.

Nino shook his head.

"We never could ask her anyway. I believe that she still wanted us all to follow our hearts. Pun not intended," Nino said.

The rest of their time at the eatery proceeded quietly, and both men proceeded back home on their own.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That night, Nino reached his apartment only to find Sho standing right by the door. Nino looked at him in surprise.

"Sho! What are you-"

Before he could finish, Sho had engulfed him in a fierce hug.

"Don't say a word- let's just go in," Sho whispered.

Nino nodded in the embrace, fumbling for his keys in one hand and opening the door to draw Sho inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I finally had an idea about how to go about this. Now only, what shall I do now that Nino and Sho are in the comfort of Nino's home? ;)


	9. Marring the lines

The two men stepped into Nino's house, staying in each other's embrace. It had been a hard day for both of them, having to break the news to Aiba and Ohno. And goodness knows how they had taken it. Sho drew away and looked down at Nino, who gazed back up at him with watery eyes. Giving a weak smile, he wiped away a tear that threatened to fall from Nino's eyes.

"I... I feel really sorry for Aiba-kun and Oh-chan," Nino finally blurted out, "that we have to get together at their expense, that we had just-"

Sho stopped him by pressing his lips softly against his.

"I know, Nino. But fret not," Sho comforted, wrapping his arms firmly around Nino, "I'm sure they will find their own happiness somewhere, and they'll be even happier than they are right now."

Nino's lips drew into a small smile, "Heck, they might even thank us for leaving them to find their true happiness," he said. Sho gave a soft chuckle and leaned his forehead against Nino's.

"Yeah, they will," he breathed, and leaned in for a wild kiss that drove both their minds wild.

 

Nino felt himself melt into the kiss, like butter in a furnace. He feel Sho slipping his hands beneath his shirt and dragging his hands playfully up Nino's body. Nino tossed his head back at the contact and Sho dove in to plant a kiss on the side of Nino's neck, licking and sucking on the soft flesh there.

"Ah, Sho.."Nino choked out. Sho looked at Nino in question, and then it hit him- they were still behind Nino's front door.

"Well, doing it here sounds kinky, but I doubt it'll be comfortable," Sho spoke. Nino laughed softly at his remark.

"Let's go then,"Nino said, but just as he was about to drag Sho to lead him to the bedroom, he suddenly felt himself getting hoisted  
into the air. In the next moment he felt Sho's strong arms support his legs and his back. He had just been carried bridal-style.

"Sho! What are you doing?!" Nino exclaimed in shock. Sho leaned his nose to press lightly against Nino's cheek.

"Kicking things up a notch?" Sho offered helpfully. Nino rolled his eyes while smiling and let Sho carry him to his bedroom. Deciding to tease him a little, Nino buried his head in the crook of Sho's neck and lightly grazed his skin with his teeth. Sho shivered lightly at the tickle of Nino's teasing mouth on his skin and resisted the urge to tilt his head back.

"Nino, if you keep doing that, I might bang us against the wall," Sho said. Nino looked at him with a smirk on his face.

"Why not?" he teased. Sho chuckled at his slip-up.

"Sounds tempting, but it won't be comfortable if I bruise your leg and your side by hitting you against the wall though," Sho replied wittily whilst entering Nino's bedroom to lay him down gently on the bed.

 

Once Nino felt his back touch his bed, his hands gripped strongly at Sho's shirt, pulling him down for another feverish kiss. Sho's tongue traced Nino's bottom lip before slipping into his mouth to brush eagerly against his tongue. Nino kissed him back passionately, slipping his hands beneath Sho's shirt to caress his smooth, well-built chest. Sho moaned at his touch and allowed Nino to remove his shirt. With the shirt off, Nino caught sight of Aiba's inked name over Sho's chest. While Nino's attention was diverted, Sho pinned him down on the bed and tugged Nino's shirt up to his shoulders. Once the shirt made it past his chest, however, Sho understood what caught Nino's attention because he saw an inked name written across the area above Nino's heart. His fingers traced Ohno's name on Nino's chest, leaving a small burning trail on Nino's skin. Nino's breath grew more shallow as he shrugged off his shirt and lay down beside Sho, his fingers also beginning to trace Aiba's name on Sho's chest.

"I wish it is my name above your heart," Nino spoke, his eyes staring back longingly under Sho's passionate gaze. Sho gave a soft smile and took Nino's hand in his own, kissing the knuckles that had trailed along his chest moments ago.

"As far as I'm concerned, the room is dark and you needn't see the name on my chest to know that I love you," Sho said, his fingers now reaching to cup Nino's chin. Overwhelmed with emotion, Nino kissed Sho fully on the lips before moving them down his jawline and onto his neck.

"Mmmm.. Now let me continue what I was doing earlier," Nino said in a low voice and gently tugged at the skin on Sho's neck with his teeth. That was definitely going to leave a mark on him. Sho's eyes flew shut as he enjoyed the feel of Nino's warmth on his neck. Nino finally drew away and there it was- a burning red hickey on the side of Sho's neck.  
Sho tugged him back down on the sheets and flipped them over, pinning Nino down on the bed. He mashed his lips on Nino's, wrapping his right arm around him and wandered his curious left hand down his porcelain-smooth body. It did not take him long to notice the bulge in Nino's pants.

"Excited already, eh? Nino?" Sho teased as he ground his hip against Nino's pants. Nino groaned at the contact and friction that shocked them both through their clothes.

"Sho, hurry up already!" Nino complained. Sho laughed lightly and pecked Nino on the forehead.

"All in good time, Nino. All in good time..." he drawled sexily as he licked his way down at an agonizingly slow pace. Nino felt the moist warmth of Sho's tongue draw a line down the bridge of his nose, his lips, his neck and then down to his chest. He then felt Sho smile against his chest. In the next moment, Sho's left hand had started tugging his pants and boxers down, freeing his hardening member.

 

His deft fingers finally wrapped themselves around Nino started jerking him off. Nino writhed beneath Sho's touch, feeling every stroke sending a jolt of electricity through his veins. Sho grinned at Nino's response and decided to kick things up a notch. He brushed his right hand lightly over Nino's left nipple and started to lick and tickle it with his tongue. That earned a pleasurable moan from Nino. Now, Nino's mind was occupied with various sensations- the pleasurable friction between his member and Sho's fingers and the feel of Sho's mouth on his nipple. His moans started on a gradual crescendo, progressing from a small whimper to a pleasured cry for Sho to stop teasing him. Sho sped up his fingers and gave the hard rod of flesh quick strokes until Nino surrendered himself to the high and came in Sho's hands. Sho looked down at Nino, satisfied, and raised his hands to lick off some of Nino's essence.

 

"Mmm, you're tasty," Sho praised, bending down to kiss Nino softly. Nino smiled against Sho's lips and looked up into his eyes, reading in them the undeniable passion that sparked off the romance between them.

"Sho, please.." Nino begged, closing his eyes and wrapping his hands around Sho's head to draw him close. Sho chuckled and reached down to Nino's hole with his still-sticky left hand. Using Nino's essence as a lubricant, Sho rubbed his fingers at his entrance and finally made one decisive thrust of his index finger inside Nino's body.

"Ah!" Nino cried out in complete surprise. Sho looked at him, concerned, and then placed his lips atop Nino's as he thrusted his index finger in and out of him. Nino moaned, groaned and hummed into Sho's kiss, his body gradually adjusting itself to Sho's finger. Before long, one finger became two. And then three as Sho skilfully widened Nino's hole whilst ensuring that Nino felt minimal pain. Soon, he knew that Nino was ready.

Sho hovered his mouth beside Nino's left ear.  
"I'll take you now," he whispered huskily as he aligned his own throbbing member at Nino's entrance. Nino nodded his consent, thrusting his hips up to meet Sho's to further confirm his need for him. Sho nodded and finally eased himself slowly into Nino. Nino shut his eyes as his senses took in the novel feel of Sho's member entering his body before drawing out for a short while and then re-entering again further into his body. As Sho thrusted deeper into him, Nino raised his legs up to rest softly on Sho's shoulders and back, giving him a new angle to prod. Suddenly, Nino yelped as Sho hit a pleasurable spot in him.

"Ah.. found it," Sho muttered and begin increasing the speed of his thrusts, angling his hips to meet Nino's spot with every successive hit. His hands that had widened Nino's entrance now found themselves once again around Nino's member. Like before, they jerked him off, but this time matching the pace of his thrusts.

Nino felt his mind and heart rise higher and higher above their circumstances into a whole space of their own, where all that existed was only Sho and himself. And instead of worrying about what others thought of their relationships, they were there on his bed making passionate love with each other. All he was conscious of, at that moment, was the fact that Sho was connected to him like never before and that Sho's member hitting his sweet spot was making his moans and whimpers go up in volume and in octave.

Finally, Sho could feel the walls of Nino's body tightening slightly around him.

"Hnngh, Nino I'm going to co-" before he could finish his sentence, Sho felt a wave of pleasure sweep over his mind as he released all of his cum into Nino. Nino's orgasm followed in a heartbeat, his juices flooding Sho's hands and the sheets. Both of them continued thrusting into each other, riding out the last of their orgasm.

Sho drew himself out of Nino and reached for packs of wet and dry tissues to wipe up the mess they had created with their love-making. He then lay beside Nino before encircling his arms around his smaller frame.

 

"With this," Sho said in a low voice, "you are undoubtedly mine," Nino nodded and huddled closer to Sho, kissing him softly on the lips.

"I love you, Sho," he said. Sho looked at him, his soft smile enhancing his princely looks.

"And I love you, Nino," he said, holding Nino close to him under the sheets. They held each other's gazes, their eyes doing all the talking for them before they both slipped slowly into slumber.  
Neither of them knew that the inked names on their chests have gradually morphed to become increasingly illegible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooooo let me fan myself first. *goes out to window with uchiwas, fans self*  
> Yet another steamy piece of fanfic. I hope you guys don't mind. Because under those circumstances I have no idea what other interesting kinds of activities are possible in a dark apartment alone with your lover. XD  
> Even though I'm more of the fluff and romance type than the NC-17 type, how is this anyway? :D


	10. In the red

  
Ohno stood under the shower that night, feeling the shower head pelt warm drops of water on his back. He leaned against the wall, letting the water run down his back. He had no idea what to feel about everything that Nino had told him. Should he be angry with Nino for cheating on him, still, even though he might really be right? Should he be angry with Sho for not telling him about the truth even though he was the one who would not listen anyway? He leaned his head hard against the tiled wall. It would be irrational and completely unreasonable to blame them for it. With a sigh, he stepped slowly out of the shower to dry himself and dress. He stood in front of the mirror as he dressed, his vision vaguely catching sight of the inked name across his chest.

  
Or rather, a much blurred version of it.

Ohno's eyes widened in shock as he watched the inked name, "Ninomiya Kazunari " become gradually blurred like smudged ink on blotting paper. With shaking hands, he reached out to his phone to dial a number..

  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aiba sat against the windowsill, watching the rain start to pelt raindrops upon his glass panes. He had no idea how to take the news that Sho had just broke out to him. That the person meant for him was not him, but someone else.

  
Who that person was would be the question. But it did not matter whoever that person was, it just would not be the same if it was not Sho. He gave a sigh and sipped on a can of beer as he stared out at the dark streets just a distance away. Suddenly, the house phone rang.

  
"Hello?" Aiba answered.

  
"... Aiba-kun? I.. er... I really need your help. Now. I'm freaking out," Ohno spoke into the phone shakily.

  
Aiba's eyes widened in shock. Could it be that the blow from Nino and Sho was too hard and he was...

  
"Okay, Ohno-kun, breathe deeply. Breaaaathe. I know that it's hard to accept. I know that it's hard to believe what they said, but they have got a point, you know. So please step away from the window or-"

  
"... What are you talking about, Aiba-kun?! I'm freaking out here because I can't read Nino's name on my chest anymore!" Ohno blurted.

  
Aiba's eyes were now as huge as saucers. He ran to his room and stripped out of his shirt before standing in front of the mirror.

Indeed, just like Ohno had said, he couldn't read the name on his chest either- it was a blurry, black mass of ink that was smudged upon his skin.

  
"O-o-okay, erm, d-don't panic, okay? I'm coming over r-right this minute," Aiba stuttered before rushing over to Ohno's house.

  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The two men stood in front of the mirror in Ohno's bedroom, staring at their reflection uncertainly.

  
"What could it really mean? Why now?" Ohno asked, fingering the smudge ink on his skin.

  
"I have no idea either, but it could only mean that they were really not meant for us after all and that they were, like Sho said, helping to point us to our true soulmates," Aiba replied, his eyes staring tiredly at themselves.

  
"But... who would they be?" Ohno asked. Aiba gave a weak smile and turned to look at Ohno encouragingly.

  
"I don't know, but what we can do would be to do what we have been doing for all our lives before meeting Sho and Nino- we wait." Aiba suggested.

  
Ohno looked down at the ground uncertainly. Aiba gave him a playful punch.

  
"Come now, Ohno-kun. You look ten times cuter when you smile," Aiba cooed, giving his cheeks a slight pinch. Ohno could not help but chuckle lightly at Aiba.

  
"It's late, Aiba-kun. Spend the night here instead?" Ohno suggested.

  
Aiba looked at him in surprise.

  
"Is that alright? I mean..." Aiba hesitated, looking away while wondering why his heart rate sped up at the thought of staying at Ohno's house.

  
"Sure, why not? I was the one who called you over so late after all," Ohno said, grinning sheepishly at him before going to his bed and pulling the covers over him. He then parted some of the covers to allow some space for Aiba to sleep in.

  
Aiba hung around near Ohno's bed, unsure as to what to do. He felt confused about so many things- his strong feelings for Sho, his surprise and shock from the blurring ink on his chest and a... a feeling. A small but certain sensation of butterflies in fluttering gently in his stomach.

  
"Hurry up, will you?" Ohno complained, "I'm getting a little cold."

  
Aiba snapped out of his thoughts and slowly made his way over to the bed where Ohno was. There they both slept for the rest of the night, with Ohno getting his fitful sleep and Aiba trying not to lose his while feeling the rise and fall of Ohno's back against his.

  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
 _Those deep, soulful brown eyes held his gaze as Aiba stared at the shadowed man in front of him. The place they were in was so surreal, almost like a magic garden of their own. Fireflies danced around him like little fairies as he started to move slowly towards him. In the distance, a long way behind the man, he caught sight of two other familiar figures strolling together._  


  
_"Jun..and Mao-chan?" he wondered. Suddenly, another pair joined the two figures behind the shadowed man._   


  
_"Sho-chan and... Nino..?" he thought in surprise as he realised that the person of his destiny was most definitely not any of them._

Instead...  


  
_He gazed back at the shadowed man before him, watching his searching brown eyes take in his own just as curiously._   


  
_Ohno was quite sure that he was familiar with the height of this shadowed man in front of him. But yet.. somehow he could not put his finger on the name that fits this person._   


  
_That person had started moving forward towards him, his compelling, soft eyes gazing at him in awe as he advanced towards him._

Suddenly, he saw flashes of light, memories replaying various scenes in his head like a movie. That scene earlier at the restaurant. The chase. The plea for him to come out. All that had meant..  


  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ohno awoke with a start, opening his eyes. He was no longer in the magical garden like before, but in his own bedroom. It was morning already. He looked down at the covers and turned to see Aiba sleeping right beside him. He threw off the covers and sauntered over to the bathroom to brush. It was then that he saw it. His eyes lingered on that name, and then flickered over to the sleeping man on his bed. He trudged back to the bed slowly, prying the covers slowly away from Aiba to stare at his chest.

  
Suddenly, it all came to him- the numerous dreams that he had of a different man other than Nino. Those compelling eyes. That tall stature. It was no wonder why it was all so familiar- because his true soulmate had always been there beside him all along.

  
He was soon brought to reality as Aiba whimpered softly about feeling cold and opened his eyes. His eyes looked around the bedroom before settling on Ohno's face.

  
"Good morning, Ohno-kun," Aiba greeted. Ohno gave him a soft smile.

  
"Come, Aiba-kun. I need to show you something," he said. Aiba, now completely curious, followed Ohno to stop in front of the mirror.  
And there he saw why Ohno was so relieved and excited. All the questions that had been in his head all that time was finally answered. He finally knew that what Nino and Sho had said was indeed true. Also, he was more than relieved to find that he needn't look too far to find his soulmate- all this time, he had been beside him.

  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nino nuzzled into the warmth of Sho's embrace, not wanting to change their position or leave the bed. He liked it just like that- staying undressed in the comfort of Sho's strong arms. He breathed softly against his neck, planting a kiss on it from time to time. Sho gradually drew back his arms little by little, trailing them softly down Nino's side. Suddenly, they flew to Nino's bottom to give him a surprise squeeze. Nino yelped in surprise and Sho chuckled softly as his own eyes opened sleepily.

  
"Ohayou~" he greeted. Nino gave an amused smile and smacked Sho on the shoulder.

  
"You pervert," Nino chided.

  
"Exclusively your pervert, Nino," Sho replied, giving him a wink before pulling him down for a passionate kiss. They then lay in that same position again, this time staring up at the ceiling.

  
"So.. we did it, huh," Nino muttered.

  
Sho nodded. "Yeah," he replied, "we told them the truth. But I worry on how they had taken it. Masaki gets easily attached to his emotions sometimes."

  
Nino gave a tired hum as he laid his forehead on Sho's shoulder.

  
"I'm sure they will both be fine. To be able to find their true happiness may not be easy, but at the very least they can remember many happy memories from our former relationship with them," Nino said. Sho smiled and pecked Nino on the cheek in agreement.  
Nino started rolling off the bed, wincing in pain as he tried to stand.

  
"I blame you for this, idiot," Nino mock-scolded. Sho grinned and prowled his way over to Nino.

  
"Oh but both your ass and mine know that you enjoyed it. So.. shall we relive those moments again?" Sho said bemusedly. Nino laughed and staggered unstably to the bathroom, stopping short as he stared at mirror in shock.

  
"Sho? Can you come here please?" Nino asked urgently. Sensing something different in Nino's voice, Sho stepped carefully to the bathroom. Nino turned to look at him, his eyes soon travelling down to the area above his heart before widening in surprise.

  
"Sho! Look at our chests!" Nino exclaimed. Sho looked puzzledly at his own, only to find out what caught Nino's attention.

  
For one, the ink was different. What had been raven-black in colour was now replaced by a bright rose-red. But what struck him deep in his heart was that instead of "Aiba Masaki," it was " **Ninomiya Kazunari** " that was written across his chest. Sho looked over at Nino's chest, crying out softly in awe and joy as he saw his own name written neatly in the same red ink across his lover's chest.

Without a moment's hesitation, he drew Nino tightly into a hug.

  
"Somehow, I just knew we were meant to be together," he whispered softly. Nino beamed, ignoring the hot tears that were falling out of his eyes and just held Sho close.


	11. Patching up and pairing up

Sho and Nino proceeded to work, both their hearts feeling much lighter than before. The transformation of their inked names had settled most of the unease in them. Perhaps, the only thing that they are concerned about would be how Aiba and Ohno had reacted to everything.

"Nino, how do you think they're coping up with it?" Sho asked as they stepped into the elevator.  
Nino pondered over the question, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I guess we will find out soon enough," Nino replied, his fingers toying with Sho's lightly. A small smile played on his lips. Sho grinned and huddled closer to Nino, giving him a small peck on the cheek before leaving for the newscasting department. Nino breathed out. And for the first time in months, he smiled back down at the newscasting department as the elevator continued to bring him up.

Ohno and Aiba stepped into the building. They looked up at the LCD display while waiting for the lift to arrive.

"Ne, Ohno-kun, what about us and.. you know.." Aiba trailed off uncertainly. Ohno looked at him and smiled gently.

"We'll take things slow. If we're really meant to be, we'll both find out why," Ohno replied.

"Mmm.. I'll make this fun. Since it's a matter of time till we get together... we shall see who will confess first," Aiba suggested.

Ohno could not help but laugh at Aiba's suggestion. Aiba looked at him and pouted.

"What's so funny? In fact, I think you'll be so charmed you'll confess to me first!" Aiba declared.

Ohno gave a light chuckle. "Game on..." he spoke, leaning slightly closer to Aiba before continuing in a low voice, "Ma-sa-ki~"

Aiba blushed involuntarily at being called by his first name and dashed towards the arriving elevator. Ohno gave a satisfied hum as he walked in.

"So, are you going for lunch later? With the Jun, Sho and Nino, I mean," Aiba asked. Ohno's happy expression turned into a small frown. He directed his eyes to the floor, tapping his feet slowly as he pondered.

"Ohno-kun, you can't possibly avoid them forever, can you? I know that you and Nino still have issues and all, but it is still a fact that the reason to be angry at them is gone," Aiba reasoned.

Ohno sighed. He knew Aiba was right. He knew that he would have to face Nino one day to tell him that he had found his true soulmate. But it was still hard to believe that it was just a month or so ago when he and Nino were still hanging around each other. Knowing that he needed time to think, Aiba patted the man slowly on the back, giving it a slow, comforting rub after every pat.

"Whatever you say, I'm with you on it, okay?" Aiba spoke softly. Ohno nodded slowly as the lift beeped at the graphic design department. He stepped out of the lift, and paused. He then turned his eyes to look straight into Aiba's.

"Let's... let's go out for lunch together later, okay?" Ohno asked.

"Already..? You're already asking me out?" Aiba asked in mock surprise. Ohno stepped forward and flicked a finger on his forehead playfully.

"This doesn't count as a proper confession- it's just so we can get over the awkwardness slowly," Ohno explained. Aiba winced at the pain on his head, but gave an understanding nod.

"I'll see you later then," Aiba said. Ohno gave him a soft, charming smile before disappearing away into his workplace. Aiba stilled himself against the wall, calming his fluttering heart. This thing with Ohno may not be so bad after all, he thought.

For days and weeks, the awkwardness hovered between the five men. While Sho, Nino and Jun still hung out for lunch at the cafeteria, they could not help but notice the absence of the other two men.

Ohno and Aiba, in the meantime, became gradually acquainted and more comfortable with each other's presence. The pair saw each other frequently in the hallways and took turns in asking each other out for lunch or dinner. It did not take long for the two of them to grow closer to each other. Both of them shared a love for food (Ohno to his sashimi and Aiba to his ramen, which Ohno gladly paid for) and started going out on fishing trips together. For the first time in a long while, Ohno's fishing trips were no longer lonely- Aiba was right beside him and he always would be.

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"Sho-kun, it's been a while since we last saw Aiba and Ohno-kun," Jun spoke as the trio had lunch one day.

"Yeah... Lunch just doesn't feel the same without Masaki-kun's weird food ideas and Ohno-kun's sleepy eyes," Sho spoke, nudging Nino's shoulder lightly with his head.

Nino nodded slowly, his spoon skipping absently around the pudding cup on the table.

That day, Aiba strolled slowly out of the photography department, only to bump into Jun. Jun looked at him, completely surprised.

"Aiba-chan! Where have you been all this time!? What happened between you an-Aiba-chan, are you okay?" Jun asked as he saw Aiba looking down at the floor with a slightly downcast face. Finally, Aiba's shoulders slumped resignedly and he looked up at Jun.

"I need your help, Jun-kun," he pleaded. Jun could only look at him in total surprise before nodding and following him to the café.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jun took a big gulp of coffee as he stared at Aiba who had told him everything that had happened. He then looked back down at his dark coffee, his eyes narrowing as they concentrated on the dark swirls of black and brown in his cup.

"Aiba-kun, one of you has to talk to either Sho or Nino somehow," Jun suggested, "I can understand that it will be awkward and all, but getting over it and laying everything out on the table will definitely save your friendship. And it's not just with Sho, but with Nino as well."

Aiba bit on his lip uncertainly. "But what am I to tell him? What can I possibly tell him?"

Jun sipped on his coffee and replied. "Just tell him that you have forgiven him. Believe me, even though he is happy with Nino right now, you are still an important person to him and he still wants to know that you are not angry with him.. Just that would be fine at the moment, and everything else will take its course, okay?"

Aiba heaved a small sigh, but somehow, he seemed to be less tired than before.  
"I'll try, ne?" he said. Jun gave him a bright smile and bumped his own coffee cup against his.

"Cheers to a friendship that far surpasses all levels of awkwardness," he said.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sho stepped into the lift , making his way to the cafeteria. He had no idea why Aiba had wanted to meet him there. Especially when it was close to the end of office hours. He stepped into the cafeteria and caught sight of the man sitting at their usual spot, staring absently at his cup of coffee.

"Masaki-kun," Sho greeted as he sat opposite him. Aiba looked up, giving him a weak smile before looking back down at his coffee. Sensing that the atmosphere just got more awkward, Sho said, "I am.. uh.. just going to grab some coffee, okay?"

He proceeded to leave when Aiba grabbed his hand and stopped him.  
"It won't be too long. I'm fine," he spoke softly. Sho looked at him, surprised, before sliding back into his seat.

"The name on my chest had changed," he began. Sho's eyebrows raised in interest.

"It's Ohno-kun," Aiba continued.

"Masaki-kun, I'm-"

"No, I'm sorry,"

Sho was about to apologise for everything when Aiba cut in before him. Sho's eyes widened in shock.

"It is rather... unbecoming for me and Ohno-kun to keep avoiding you guys like this. You had mustered all the courage you had to tell me everything and yet I couldn't even give you a proper answer," Aiba blurted. Sho could only sit there, frozen in his seat.

"Thing is, please don't think that I'm still angry with you, Sho-chan." Aiba's tone started to grow more stable and assured as he spoke, "Although I still don't know what I'm feeling for Ohno-kun and all, what I do know is that my true soulmate is found somewhere inside him. And it'll definitely be a matter of time till I find it. So Sho-chan, don't blame yourself anymore for this, ne? It had been written that you would be doing this to help me find him after all."

Sho's eyes grew softer and welled up slowly as he gave a small, relieved smile.

"Sho? What are you doing here? And Aiba-kun!" Nino's voice questioned. The two men looked up to see Nino walking up to them. Aiba stared up uncertainly at Nino. Just then, Sho reached over and gave Aiba a reassuring pat on the arm. Nino's eyes widened in shock and scooted quickly over towards them.

"Aiba, you-"  
"I'm sorry for avoiding you guys!" Aiba spoke up first. Nino froze midstep, blinking in surprise.

"Now now, it's fine. Shall we go out for dinner later?" Sho asked. Aiba agreed, his eyes lighting up immediately. Nino frowned.

"Oi. Sho. Have you forgotten about a certain someone here?" Nino asked, narrowing his eyes on his lover. Sho chuckled and pulled Nino in for a short hug.

"Never," he whispered. Nino gave a satisfied grin while Aiba laughed at the couple.

"Get a room, you two. I'm going to find Ohno-kun to invite him along. Jun-kun will be there later as well!" Aiba said as he skipped away to the lift, his shoulders feeling much lighter than before. Nino and Sho looked at each other and grinned.

"I suppose all is well between us then?" Nino asked.

"Actually, there's Ohno-kun left. But with Aiba now wanting us all together, I think he'll lighten up at the dinner later," Sho replied, his fingers slowly entwining with Nino's.

"Sho, if I recall correctly, Aiba had told us two to do something," Nino spoke in a low voice, a light smirk making its way onto his face. Sho looked at him confusedly for a few moments until it dawned on him. He leaned down to whisper in Nino's ear.

"Later, after dinner. And how about we both call in sick tomorrow morning?" Sho suggested, giving him a seductive wink.

Nino nodded and started dragging Sho to the lift. "Let's pack up. I'll see you in a short while when the elevator isn't occupied," he said, smacking Sho's bum lightly as they walked in.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Mmm! This is good!" Jun exclaimed as he slurped up his noodles. The five guys had decided on a ramen make-up party (much to Aiba's own delight) at that familiar restaurant that Aiba, Sho, Nino and Ohno had eaten at for their double date. Sho grinned over at Jun.

"I told you that the noodles here are worth the trip," he said while slurping up the last of his noodles, "and you know if you can't finish it, you can always give the rest to me."

"No thank you. I don't need your help," Jun retorted playfully, finishing up the rest of his noodles quickly to make his point. Nino chuckled lightly at their banter as he gazed down at his soup. Suddenly, he felt a light tug on his right sleeve. He looked up to see Ohno staring down at him.

"Come out for a minute," he said, turning back towards the entrance. Nino looked over at Sho uncertainly. He was not sure he was ready to face Ohno after everything that had happened. But Sho gave him a small nod and a reassuring smile- a silent message that told him that he would be there no matter what happens. Nino smiled back faintly and followed Ohno outside.

The night sky hung over them like a black canopy, with bright stars peeking out on the clouds. The two men stood outside the ramen shop, staring out into the darkness above them.

"Oh-chan, er... . how have you been?" Nino asked dumbly, mentally slapping himself on the forehead for such a question. Ohno pursed his lips thinly for a moment, tapping his foot idly on the pavement beneath them.

"Not as much as I had been before. But I'm fine," he replied. Nino nodded gravely and stared up at the sky.

"I'm sorry about all this," Nino spoke softly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. It was all predestined to be so anyway," Ohno said. Nino nodded slowly as he lowered his eyes back down on the pavement. The two men shifted uneasily beside each other, looking around at the pavement, the shop opposite them, the sky...

"Nino, if there had been no names on us, who would you choose?" Ohno prompted. Nino jumped slightly at the sudden question. He definitely did not see that question coming. Biting his lip as he pondered, he decided to be forthright with Ohno and stared squarely into his eyes.

"I can't answer that, Oh-chan," he replied, "because matters of the heart are unpredictable. I might possibly be with you because we connect together so well. Or I might possibly be with Sho because we have equal desire for each other. It is really hard to tell at this point of time."

"But when you know that he's meant to be, you just know, right?" Ohno asked. Nino nodded. Ohno's eyes wandered up to the sky and smiled.

"Because I think I do know now," he said. Nino blinked.

"Wait, you found him already?" Nino asked.

"Yes," Ohno said, pointing to his heart, "it's written on my chest in red. It's Aiba-chan." Nino's eyes widened in surprise and he froze for a moment before bursting out in laughter.

"What?! You're laughing at who I'm paired with now?!" Ohno asked, pouting angrily at Nino.

"No! No.." Nino protested while taking deep breaths, "It's just that.. why did you avoid us then? I've found my soulmate and you found yours, so..? What is the problem?"

Ohno looked away embarrassedly. "Well, isn't it awkward? I mean, it's just a month or so ago that we..."

Nino patted Ohno gently on the shoulder, "What is past is past, Oh-chan. Now whatever we did as a couple, do the same and more for Aiba-kun. Take our former relationship as your rehearsal, and now this with Aiba is the real thing, ne?"

"Well, he's better for one reason... he doesn't get seasick on fishing trips," Ohno joked, which made Nino give him a mock-glare.

Just at that moment, Aiba walked out with the other three men.

"Everyone~ Let's go for a drink~" Aiba called happily. Jun laughed.

"You guys go right ahead, I have to meet Mao-chan for a movie," he said.

"Ninoooo! What have you been doing outside?" Sho asked as he strode towards Nino, taking his arm in a slightly possessive manner. Nino chuckled.

"Oh, you know. Just reminiscing the good ol' days with Oh-chan just to ease things over," Nino teased, grinning mischievously at Sho. Sho's lips curled into an evil smirk.

"Really.." he leaned down to whisper in Nino's ear, "I'll give you something to reminisce about later," he drawled in a low voice, his breath tickling Nino lightly.

"We shall give the two of you space," Ohno said before turning to Aiba.

"Oh well, let's go, Ohno-kun~" Aiba said excitedly, bounding away with the older man.

"Wow, he really has all that energy, huh." Jun remarked.

Nino smiled and curled his arm around Sho's waist. "That's our Aiba-chan after all, ne?"

Jun looked down at his watch. "AH! Mao-chan's going to be mad. I'm running off first, bye!" he called as he dashed off.

Sho paused and then beamed down at Nino.

"Nino, I recall we have some unfinished business?" he drawled, slipping an arm around Nino's waist. Nino grinned.

"Your place this time," Nino suggested. Sho agreed and directed Nino towards his car.

"I'm really glad that Aiba-kun had told me that he and Ohno weren't mad at us anymore. I wonder how he and Oh-chan would do together as a pair though," Sho remarked as they strolled. Nino leaned his head on Sho's sloping shoulders.

"Oh, just fine. Why just now he told me that Aiba didn't get seasick on fishing trips. He'd be perfect for him," Nino replied. Sho chuckled at his reply.

"Well now," he said, closing the car doors as Nino settled in, "since our issues have been settled, how shall we celebrate?"

Nino leaned into Sho from the seat beside him, giving him a soft, toe-curling kiss.

"Let's find out at your place," he whispered, his breath dancing on Sho's lips. Sho winked at Nino and settled him back on his seat.

"Well, I can't wait," he said, driving his car out, his mind clear, shoulders light and heart singing.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. It's like.. the end of my first ever Arashi fanfic series.   
> I want to thank everyone who had followed the series from the beginning to the end. And a great, big 'thank you' to guests AO3 users who have left kudos over here even though I'm usually more active on LJ. XD
> 
> Thanks so much, everyone. I look forward to reading more and writing more here. :D
> 
> XOXO  
> pianoisloved


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